Friars Advance to Championship

After four long years, the Friars are finally heading back to the IIAAG Boy’s High School Soccer Championship game. After defeating the George Washington Geckos 1-0, the Friars are headed to the championship for the first time since they were crowned league champions in 2011.

It was a hard fought match with both teams playing a very physical game as they battled for a shot at the championship this coming Saturday against the Harvest Christian Academy Eagles.

The Geckos knocked off the JFK Islanders in a stunning 1-0 defeat while the Friars shutdown the Dolphins over the past weekend to meet the Geckos in the semis.

Early in the first half both teams battled to set the pace of the game, with each team disrupting the other’s game plan. The Geckos had the first shot at goal with Yuh Ono blasting the ball from 35 yards out but the shot went straight to FD keeper Cameron Miles. Moments later FD’s Jake Benito had a chance to put his team on the board when he was given a free kick for being tripped up, as he weaved through the GW defense, but his kick was no good.

Later in the half, GW’s Hezekiah Cruz took advantage of defensive errors made by the Friars and found himself in 1-on-1 situations with the FD keeper but was unlucky as both shots went wide left. As the half came to an end both teams continued to constantly pressure each other’s ball handlers, trading possessions back and forth until the refs blew the whistle, ending the half nil-nil.

The Friars took over early in the second half, setting a pace that they maintained for a majority of the half. The Friars picked up their level of play and were able to get into an offensive rhythm.

FD’s Benito was able to carry the ball down the right side of the field and send a perfect low cross to Jestin Escobar who finished the shot while surrounded by a number of GW defenders, finding the back of the net and putting the Friars up 1-0 in the 48th minute.

After that moment, the Geckos offense had trouble getting anything going throughout the half as FD’s Shane Healy and Joshua Lujan consistently won the ball back for their team. The Friars were successfully using the wings to move the ball down the field but were unable capitalize whenever they found themselves inside the GW goalie box. FD’s Benito had excellent touches on the ball and controlled the pace of the FD offense.

The physical nature of the match led to the Geckos being given a number of free kicks but they were unable to make use of their set pieces. In the final moments of the match, the Geckos had a chance to equalize the score after being given a throw-in deep in the Friars’ half of the field. The Geckos were unable to make anything of it and the Friars held on to win the match.