On Tuesday, November 8th, 2016 the Wilsonville boys soccer team faced the La Salle Falcons in the soccer semi-final game.

Fans flooded into the stands to witness the battle set to take place against these two very strong teams.

The Wildcats came out hard and fast paced, but so did the Falcons.  La Salle and Wilsonville had equal control of the ball the first half, however Wilsonville definitely had the offensive advantage in the second half.

It was tight the entire game, with many penalties on both sides.  Many times Riley King and Calvin Lucas got break aways to the goal, but they were unsuccessful.

The Wildcat goal keeper, Oscar Baron, made many crucial stops throughout the game.  Both teams fought very hard in regulation time, but in the end it was 0-0.

At this point they were forced to go into extra time.  Extra time consists of two halves at ten minutes per half.  At the end of this twenty minute period the score was still tied.

Oscar Baron commented,”We thought we were going to score in extra time, that’s what our plan was.”  The idea was to put La Salle away early instead of going into penalty kicks.  The problem with penalty kicks is the teams rarely get to practice them, and there is hardly ever a game situation where penalty kicks are taken.  “This is the first time we had been in PK’s this season,” Baron mentioned.

Calvin Lucas, a captain on the team stepped up to take the first kick, and he unfortunately missed it.  La Salle’s first kicker also missed the first kick, keeping the score at 0-0.  Edgar Hernandez strode to the penalty marker with confidence.  The crowd held their breath as he set up to take the shot.  He took three steps back then propelled himself forward taking a powerful shot which landed in the goal.  The stands erupted with love for the senior.

The third kicker for La Salle also made his shot, leading to a tie yet again.  Henry Tellez scored the third attempt, and so did the falcons.  In pursuit of the win Carlos Ulloa lined up and took the last shot.  The goalie dropped to the ground and got a piece of the ball, but it was not enough, the ball barely rolled in.  The score was now 3-2.  The last player for La Salle missed their final attempt.  The Wildcats won the game 3-2, the student section flooded the field to celebrate the triumph.

“The team did really great, the fans were awesome, and it was a really fun game to participate in,” Baron expressed, ”Now we are headed to the final, hopefully to win it.”  The championship game will be played November 12th, 2016 at 10:30am, against Woodburn, at Hillsboro stadium.  The two teams met last year in the semi-final game, the Wildcats pulled out a close win 1-0.  Wilsonville will strive for victory against the Bulldogs in the final game of the season, to claim the state title.  Come support your Cats!