Boys Soccer: Tigers get first-ever 1AA win

Jack Fogarty (left) scored the fourth Tiger goal (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Farmington hosted its first-ever Section 1AA quarterfinal game Thursday night at Tiger Stadium and the third-seeded Tigers rose to the occasion with a 4-1 win over sixth seed Rochester John Marshall.

The victory didn't come easily, however, as JM got the better of the play early and led 1-0 with five minutes to play in the first half.

That's about the time Robin DeCastro headed  a corner kick by Caleb Gouchenour into the net for the tying goal and a big swing in momentum.

"That goal was crucial," Farmington coach Julian Buss said. "It got us re-focused and we came out in the second half ready to play....We had struggled to get back together as a team after they (JM) scored first."

The second period had a completely different flavor with the home team scoring three unanswered goals to advance to Saturday's section semifinals.

Jeffrey Guiterrez scored what proved to be the game-winner 7:47 after intermission on an assist from Blake Smith before Jared Wolt (assisted by Ryan Parco) gave the Tigers a two-goal edge with 20 minutes remaining. Jack Fogarty put the game away 75 seconds later on a rebound of a Jon Zakoski shot.

"The second half was ours," Buss said. "We didn't necessarily have more scoring opportunities, but we did follow up shots and take advantage of second chances in front of the net...Deflections, headers and quick touches won the game for us tonight."

Jake Agnew 16 saves (photo by Jim Lindquist)

So did the customary strong play of the defense and the goal work of sophomore keeper Jake Agnew who finished the night with 16 saves.

The Tigers will try to keep their post-season hopes alive Saturday afternoon when they make the short trip to Lakeville North to take on the second-seeded Panthers.

North (7-7-2) defeated Farmington (7-4-5) 1-0 in overtime when the two teams met on the same field on Aug. 24 in the second game of the season.