More than bragging rights were on the line in the first round of the Okotoks derby. The Foothills Athletic Council senior boys soccer race continues to widen as the previously undefeated Foothills Falcons fell 3-2 at home to the defending champion Holy Trinity Academy Knights on Monday. “This was everything for us,” said Knights left midfielder Ethan Pearson. “Obviously being cross-town rivals this was definitely our most important game because they took the win against Canmore. We win this game and we have a chance now of winning the league.” The Knights opened the scoring with a pair in the opening 15 minutes through Olli Marsh and David Bowers. “Our passing and one touch control in the midfield was there today,” Pearson said. “A couple of our Grade 10s stepped up. Olli Marsh did really well in the midfield, he controlled it against the bigger Grade 12s and our defence was there today.” The barnburner first half was just getting started. Luke Malone got the Falcons on the board with a cool left-footed strike after being set up on a through ball header from teammate Thomas Isherwood. The latter earned a free kick minutes later leading to Cole Johnson’s equalizing marker on a curler over the HTA wall. Turnabout was fair play at the other end of the pitch. Bowers countered with a free-kick goal of his own, his second of the half, on a looping shot into the left corner of the Falcons net to close out the scoring. “We knew we were a bit smaller, we knew they had more players,” said Knights assistant coach Tate Goodwin. “But we wanted to have everyone work hard and focus defensively on getting that ball out, not messing around with it and I think we did that.” Foothills had most of the possession and scoring chances for the duration of the contest. David Kent-Canalejo’s sharp header was cleared off the line by Knights defender Josh Hodgkins while Hunter Boriskewich’s swift half-volley sailed just wide in a scoreless second half. “We had a real simple mistake two minutes in which really changed the momentum,” said Falcons coach Jeff Seaborn. “They’ve got some strong strikers that have speed, kept penetrating through and challenging our defence. “In the second half, we outplayed them, we beat them to the ball, we controlled it.” The Knights improved to 2-1-1 with the victory while the Falcons dropped to 3-1. They meet for what could be a crucial rematch in the season standings on June 4 at Riverside Park. Both teams are also off to the South Central Zone championships, June 6-7 in Cochrane.
