By Bryan Rothamel / Flucoblog.com
PALMYRA — Despite controlling most of the game, the Fluvanna boys’ soccer team lost 2-1 to Kettle Run in the quarterfinals of the Region II Tournament.
“We were the better team at times, a lot of the time. That’s what it is hard about it,” Fluvanna head coach Patrick Dieter said. “We came out, never quit and worked hard.”
The Flucos couldn’t catch a break as they had eight shots on goal compared to KRHS having three. FCHS controlled most of the first half rifling shots from all over the field along with a few spoiled breakaway attempts.
“Fluvanna brought it to us. We had one of our stars sitting out because of a red card last game so we had to shuffle it around a little bit. The guys stepped in,” KRHS coach Philip Roper said. “We had one guy who’s played defense once for us this year and he stepped in the whole second half and he was fantastic for us.”
The Cougars came out of halftime with a burst that led to the first goal of the match in as Casey Cooke dribbled through a crowded penalty box to score in the 44th minute. Then senior Tanner Carlton blasted in the insurance goal in the 63rd minute from just outside the 18-yard box.
“It was scary in the beginning [of the game] but we won. We came out hard in the second half and put it away like we should’ve in the first half,” Carlton said.
Fluvanna could not get a great shot on goal in the final frame until Josh Hinkle was taken down inside the penalty box in the 71st minute. Tygh Allbaugh took the penalty kick and found the left corner of the goal. Unfortunately for the Jefferson District champions, the lone goal wasn’t enough to continue the Flucos’ season.
“This is the best season we’ve ever had in our history,” said Fluvanna senior Nick Shepherd. “To top it off with the district tournament championship and the regular season final, I really couldn’t ask anything more from these boys. They really played their hearts out this season.”
The Flucos end their historic season 16-2-2 winning the Jefferson District Regular Season Championship for the second consecutive year. This was the first year FCHS has also won the district tournament championship.
“It’s going to be a long offseason waiting to come back and get back to work but enjoy a little bit of vacation and start thinking about it again,” Dieter said.
Dieter will return 16 players including 10 starters.
