Falcon Booters Come From Behind for a 2-1 Win

So, I decided to drive to Richland, NJ, or as I call it, East Bumblefutch, to catch the Falcon soccer team take on the very talented St Augustine team. It’s like 50 miles from Philly, but I happened to be in Washington Township and decided to trek down to watch my favorite soccer team play. I normally don't write the soccer stories, but I enjoyed this game so much that I asked our normal soccer reporter, Tom Crossett, if I could have the honor and put my thoughts on "paper" for this game. Think of me as a "celebrity guest writer".

Before getting into the game itself, I should give you a mental picture of the complex at St Augustine. Well, it’s in the middle of nowhere, and you have to drive down a nondescript tree lined road off Rt 40, just south of Buena Vista, NJ. Once you turn down the road that leads to the entrance of the campus, you start to get a sense of the place. This campus makes Archbishop Ryan’s campus look like North Catholic’s campus. Big doesn’t even begin to describe the place. A person could make a fortune selling campus maps at the gate. They have brand new buildings there, and rumor has it that a local guy, who didn’t even finish high school, and lives in a run down hut like house, donated a million dollars for one of the buildings. I guess he had it stuffed in his mattress. Too bad this guy didn’t live in Juniata or Kensington. Wishful thinking, I know. The playing fields are incredible, with a new turf field in their football/soccer stadium. They have baseball fields, practice fields, lacrosse fields, etc. If there's a sport that is played outside, St Augustine has a well groomed field to play that sport. But, for $15,000/year for tuition and fees, I guess they have the funds to do that.

GAME SUMMARY
During the first half, both teams pressed on their offensive ends, but defense was the name of the game as the half ended knotted at 0-0. Senior McCarthy wasn’t challenged much in that first half, but he came up big when he needed to throughout the half. It was the Falcon defense that kept the opponent in check.

The second half started off much like the first half, with the only difference being that the Falcon players seemed a lot more aggressive, keeping the ball in the St Augustine end of the field most of the half. But, it was one unfortunate play that put the Falcons down 1-0 early in the second half. A forward from St Augustine took a nice pass from behind, with the ball on his foot inside the penalty box. He dribbled in a little closer and took a shot. But, John McCarthy was up to the task and made a diving save. Unfortunately, the rebound went straight out and onto the foot of another Augustine player, who booted it in the net for the first score of the night. It was just about this time that the rain started, which came down as a steady, yet slightly annoying drizzle.

For the next 20 minutes of play, the Falcons pressed and at one point, got caught with their pants down. A St Augustine forward took a pass about midfield and had, what he thought would be a clean break to the net. But, as he turned, he found the Falcon goalkeeper about 40 yards out of his net, attempting the tackle. McCarthy got a foot on the ball, but not enough, which left the Augustine player on a one on none break toward the goal. It was a sure goal and the Falcon crowd seemed to give a collective groan. But, just as clear as this should have been a goal, as the player took his shot, a Falcon defender came seemingly out of nowhere to make the sliding tackle and knocked the ball out of bounds. What a save! The Falcon faithful cheered, and we somehow knew the momentum had shifted back to the good guys.

Not long after the aforementioned non-goal, a Falcon player took a shot on goal, which everyone in the joint thought would catch the net. But, it hit the right post and sailed to the corner. Big groan!! But, the Falcons, who seemed to have extra energy stored somewhere, didn’t let up and continued to press. At about the 75 minute, Christian Cepeda found the net and put the Falcons on the board, with the score 1-1. It seemed to breathe new life into the Falcons, who knew this game was in hand. At about the 79th minute, Ira Woodruff found the net for the winning goal and the Falcon players knew it was just a matter of running out the final minute or so to go home with the win.

All in all, it was an exciting game, and one which was well worth the 50 mile drive. If you want to see some great soccer, come out and catch the 2009 Falcon soccer team. You won’t be disappointed.

NORTH GUYS ARE EVERYWHERE……
…..As I approached the field, I heard someone say my name. Now, mind you, the people against the fence were all St Augustine fans, so I couldn’t imagine who would know me. It turns out that Brian Murzyn, ‘81 (Sorry Brian, I hope I didn’t butcher your name too much), has a son on the St Augustine JV team. Brian played football for North back in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. I spent the first half getting caught up with Brian.

…..During the first half, I was told that one of the St Augustine forwards is the grandson of a North soccer player.

….Finally, as I’m talking during the first half, a young man walked up and was standing with some St Augustine fans and said, “Hey, this is North Catholic? My cousin goes to North Catholic”

The point about these short blurbs is that no matter where you go, you can usually find a North grad, or someone who is related to a North grad. We are NC! And, we are never alone. Keep that in mind as you travel the world throughout your life.

The next game for the Falcons Soccer team is Friday night, against Roman. This is a league game and will be played at Lighthouse Field at 8:00PM. Grab your lawn chair and come out to support the team. We’ll see you there.