A few scoring scares were snuffed out by the Prairie Falcons defense and goalkeeper Abe Musgrave to hold on to the 1-0 win over the W.F. West Bearcats on Thursday, March 20.
Falcons head coach Jason Staley said his team’s effort to get the goal, scored by Jayden Ramos in the second half, and to hold on to the lead, were signs of practice lessons being implemented in gametime situations.
“We’ve been working on a lot of tactical things. So I saw those adjustments,” Staley said. “But I told them it would come to the game, as it worked out, would come down to a moment or two where a player makes a play.”
Staley said he is proud of the progress his squad has made in the early portion of the season.
Musgrave had to make a few spectacular saves, and so did a defender when the ball made it past Musgrave. In the final seconds of the game, W.F. West’s Israel Lopez Cruz broke past everybody and with a wide open net, but he did not take a shot until Falcon defenders caught up and it went wide of the net.
The Falcons are 2-2. They played Camas High School on Monday, March 24, but results were unavailable at press time. Last year, the Falcons finished the year 2-8-3 and just 1-4-2 in league play in the 3A Greater St. Helens League.
“We’ve struggled in the league in previous years,” Staley said. “We’ve oftentimes started out kind of hot, like played well, and then the season grind kind of gets us down. So we’re trying to stay healthy and manage minutes and all that kind of stuff.”
Staley added it will come down to his players if the team is to reach improved standings compared to previous years.
“I do feel like we have a deeper team than we’ve had in the past. So I think that’ll help,” he said.
The Prairie Falcons next play on the road at Kelso High School on Wednesday, March 26, at 7 p.m. followed by a lengthy road trip to Grays Harbor County to play Aberdeen High School on Friday, March 28, at 7 p.m. The next home match will come after spring break on Friday, April 11, at 7 p.m. at Heritage High School.
