The Amherst boys soccer team faced an undefeated Arcadia Raiders team on September 27, and in one of the marquee matches of the season, emerged with a draw, a 1-1 tie against a state power.
Amherst came out swinging against Arcadia and was looking like the favored team starting out the match but an unlucky handball call awarded Arcadia with a penalty. Finn stood tall in goal and awaited the kick. #7 of Arcadia attempted the kick and buried it into a corner. Arcadia was up in the first half at the 28th minute.
Fighting back trying to get a look 0n goal Ayden Kazda and Milo Graham were in the danger zone. Ayden played Milo through and Milo pummeled the ball against the post and into the back of the net, giving no chance for the Arcadia keeper to save it.
Amherst went into half time with a 1-1 tie.
The Falcons proceeded to fight defensively with Arcadia attempting a bombardment of attacks for the next 40 minutes. And they weathered the storm. Amherst came out prevailing and giving Arcadia, the 7th ranked team in the state, their second draw, knocking them down into 24th.
Junior, Desmond Rooney said, “It went pretty well overall, they were a very strong team and we held our own against them. We had some opportunities to win but in the end we all were okay with the result.” Captain Isaac Snyder added, “I think we played great, defensively we controlled the same and got unlucky with a handball in the penalty box. This game got us back on track and now we are ready for anything.”
Captain Shayden Abbott-Beversdorf said it was good for the team to tie a contender and will pay dividends later in the season: “Arcadia is a very good team. They haven’t lost a game yet this year and being able to hold them to one goal and score on our own shows that we can compete at the highest level. This game is a promise for the playoffs. We can achieve a lot this year.”
Coach Ryan Pikka said he felt good about the team’s performance considering Arcadia is a very talented and well-coached team. “Coming off of a couple of dips in performance, I was proud of the fight the boys showed on Saturday – not only fighting back from being down a goal, but to dig in collectively in the last 20 minutes when we were under lots of pressure was really impressive.
“We talk about defending as a unit, and we did exactly that in those moments. The takeaway for me is nothing we didn’t already know: we have a team that, when we perform, can play with anyone. It’s about collectively overcoming adversity when it comes and taking our chances when we create them. We showed that when we do these things, we are good enough to play with anyone…a reassuring sign as we head into the final stages of the season,” said Pikka.
On September 29, Amherst traveled to Newman Catholic and showed up ready to take home the victory after a heartbreaking loss to them last year. Amherst showed up and won 7-0, playing a beautiful game. It was a great way to close out the month with Amherst’s next game Thursday October 2nd against Nekoosa.
