by Ben Gaines
HFCS was all a buzz Tuesday morning when the students and Bands lined the walkway from the High School lobby to the Elementary School end of the parking lot giving the Boys Soccer Team a hardy send off for their first Regional soccer match. The Panthers boarded the Section II bus headed to play the Section VII Champion, Canton Bears (8-4-4), at SUNY Canton.
The only score of the game came in the 13th minute of the first Golden Goal overtime period. Tyler Rondo won the ball deep in the Panthers’ backfield, carried the ball forward before passing to Drew Phillips near the center of the field. Phillips played the ball into the space ahead of Tyler Carr, who outran the speedy defense to cross the ball to Chris. LaCroix ran down the ball and sent a missile deep into the back of the net.
Coach Young said, “The turning point in the game was moving Cody Gaines into midfield. He’s such a good defender that we like to start him in the back but when we need some steel in the midfield to compliment our finesse, we call upon him, and he usually comes through. The bus ride certainly was long but affects were minimal. The trip through the Adirondacks was terrific!”
The field looked like a bomb had been dropped. Near the Bears’ 18, were the Panthers, packed around LaCroix and Carr, jumping for joy, like a plume of blue smoke while the Bears, in white, littered the pitch, lying face down where they dropped. The Panthers’ next regional game is Saturday at 1 pm in Plattsburg against Lake Placid.
