FA boy's soccer advances to semifinals
May 10—Frederica Academy's boys soccer team defeated Cristo Rey Atlanta 4-3 on Saturday in the quarterfinals of the GISA 3A state tournament to keep their state championship dreams alive.
It was a game of many challenges for the Knights as coach Tim O'Sullivan said he was proud of how his guys overcame each adversity that hit them.
From having to play on an astroturf field on the road to trailing early and holding off Cristo Rey in the end, Frederica found a way to earn the big victory and move to 10-3 on the season.
"Turf really doesn't necessarily suit our style, but our guys fought through it," O'Sullivan said. "Both teams are playing under the same conditions, but we like to really have the ball roll. We are a short possession-oriented team — short passes and whatnot. The ball was never settled. It always kind of bounces a little bit on the turf, and it's just a little bit harder for us. The guys' play was very good in a lot of ways."
After giving up two early goals, the Knights went on to score the next four straight goals. David Garcia, Eli Fritchman, Charlie Runyan and Bryce Reilly were responsible for those goals, and O'Sullivan said it was great to see four different guys make it happen.
"I'm not sure if we've gone down two goals in a game, so our response was outstanding," O'Sullivan said. "We scored the next four goals, so we went up 4-2 after being down 2-0. That was great, and the other part that was terrific to see. We were up 4-2, and then we gave up a late goal, so now it's 4-3 and a kind of tense ending.
"They plugged through it, and they finished the game off. Their an extremely competitive group, so that part was just outstanding. We dealt with a bunch of challenges being away, being on turf, being down two goals and coming back, giving up a late goal, and being frantic at the end holding a team off. That's great to see going into a semifinal weekend."
Overcoming the various adversities that hit the Knights was good for the team as it added to their experience. O'Sullivan said while being able to do that is good, each game has its own personality, so you cannot assume the next game will be the same.
"They're different, and within those personalities within the game are going to be different problems for the players to solve and different challenges for the players to solve — particularly in big games, and particularly in really competitive close games," O'Sullivan said. "It comes down to a lot of times how well players solve those problems and how they meet challenges.
"You need to be aware of those challenges. The good and the bad with our group is that sometimes we win big games. Then you don't have that challenge. The response to that challenge isn't quite as critical as in a game that's a one-goal game. So you want your team to have that experience going into a final four weekend."
Frederica will meet Westminster of Augusta in the semifinals of the tournament on May 14 at Mercer University in Macon.
