From dejection to domination the Foothills Falcons zoned in on school history. Foothills shook off a lopsided semifinal defeat to dismantle the Bow Valley Bobcats to the tune of 7-2 to take home bronze from the senior boys soccer South Central Zone championship on a sweltering Thursday in Cochrane. “Our guys were a little hesitant, they were nervous and they were deflated after the previous game,” said Falcons coach Jeff Seaborn. “They went down and chilled at the river a little bit, splashed around between games which helped. “We knew this was the best opportunity for the Falcons in years to actually medal at zones. We felt we were stronger than these guys and we played well.” Foothills zeroed in on Bow Valley after falling behind 2-1 at halftime. Cole Johnson got the team on the board near the end of the half on a left-footed strike to give the Falcons momentum they would not relinquish. “The first two to five minutes were pretty decent and then we started losing it. We got our momentum back after the half,” said Falcons midfielder Ryan Fields. “The big change between the first and the second was in the second we actually started possessing the ball. Passing it around and that’s when we were able to penetrate through the back line.” The Falcons absolutely dismantled the opposition following the restart, netting a staggering six in the final 40 minutes. Central midfielder David Kent-Canalejo scored off a long throw-in to even the score followed in short order by winger Connor Seaborn’s deft chip over the keeper from the edge of the box. The Grade 12 Falcon doubled his output minutes later, practically walking it into the net. Following a Tanner Young tally off a corner, fleet-footed winger Shaphan Adesola added to the offensive explosion, curling a shot into the near corner. Seaborn then completed the hat-trick after depositing his own rebound. “Once guys got their confidence up they could make their runs and show and get the passes moving,” Connor said. “We built it up through the midfield instead of kicking and chasing like we did in the first half. “I finally started getting shots on net, it started to click. The whole team’s confidence was up, they were making the opportunities and I could start to finish properly.” The Falcons advanced out of Pool B with a 2-1 record. They opened the tournament in a 4-1 triumph over Springbank, blanked the rival Holy Trinity Academy Knights 2-0 and fell 2-0 to the eventual silver medallists St. Joe’s Crusaders out of Brooks. St. Joe’s and Foothills earned the two playoff berths out of the group. The victory over the Knights, their first in three meetings this season, was particularly satisfying for the crimson clad squad. “That was the biggest part for me because I know all the kids on that team. It felt good to win,” said Fields. “It’s a good combo, us and HTA. We’re both good teams, it’s just totally a mental game. “Discipline and we knew what was coming so we prepared for it and we were just in the zone.” The Foothills Falcons: Shaphan Adesola, Hunter Boriskewich, Jerron Conway, Douglas Diebert, Ollie Dunn, Thomas Isherwood, Cole Johnson, Duncan Kennedy, David Kent-Canalejo, Ryan Fields, Luke Malone, Thomas Mitchell, Connor Seaborn, Jake Stokes, Bryer Sufady, Jacob Thibodeau, Andrew Tuttle, Kyle Waldner, Joseph Wright, Tanner Young, Sam Jobson.
