Boys soccer: Archie Williams wraps up regular-season title

The Archie Williams High boys soccer team came into Thursday’s game needing a point to claim its first MCAL regular-season title since 2019. Three-time defending champion Redwood – the team that defeated the Peregrine Falcons in last year’s MCAL title game – was standing in the way.

Archie Williams scored the first two goals but Redwood responded with two goals in a three-minute span to the game. The Giants kept pushing for a third for about 20 minutes before the Peregrine Falcons seized back the momentum for the final 10 minutes plus stoppage time to see out the 2-2 tie and clinch the title with a game to spare.

“Last year we were just one step away, one finish away, one header away, one tackle away three times,” Archie Williams coach Rene Ayala said. “To get something, to get some hardware — especially in the MCAL — it means a lot. It gives the boys more momentum to stay hungry. We know that Redwood has been here, done that, so for them this isn’t new territory. For us, we’ve been knocking on the door but to finally be able to clinch league, especially in this league, it means something.”

The teams played a fairly even first half with Redwood – which finished second in league and earned a first-round bye in next week’s playoffs — generating a chance early and Archie Williams (8-3-4, 5-0-2 MCAL) generating one later on. Redwood’s Sam Gersch fired a shot on goal from the right wing that goalie Aidan Dunn was able to get just enough of a touch on to push it wide for a corner.

“That was a really quality shot,” Dunn said. “They’re a really good team. He kind of saw me a little off my line and he just had a crack and, to be honest, I barely got to it. It was a good hit.”

The game stayed scoreless until the 27th minute when Archie Williams forward Willy Finley pounced on a mistake by Redwood’s back line. The Giants (6-2-5, 4-1-3) misplayed a ball across their back line right to left. The left back took a poor touch and Finley was off to the races, slotting the ball home for a 1-0 lead.

“I saw his back was kind of towards me so I just pressed and he took a bad touch,” Finley said. “My first touch, I sent it forward and I just tried to find the back post. Keeper got a touch but not enough.”

Archie Williams doubled its first inside the first minute of the second half. Jordan Oliver Roa made a strong play to keep the ball from going out of bounds then played it forward to Sean Chamberlin.

“(Oliver Roa) just had the wherewithal to keep it in play, connect with Sean in front of him,” Ayala said. “Sean was also doing a tightrope on the sideline and was able to get the ball forward to Willy.”

Finley won a footrace against the center back, shouldering him to the side a bit before finishing again for a 2-0 lead.

“Just a combination of speed, strength, and balance and just having that nose for the goal,” Ayala said of Finley’s effort on the play.

After the goal, Ayala glanced at the clock and knew that Redwood had more than enough time to climb back into the game.

“I knew it as soon as we scored the second goal, I looked at the clock and there was 39 minutes left,” Ayala said. “I guess I said it out loud but I said ‘It’s too soon.’ I expected Redwood to come in with the mentality of a champion, the pedigree that they have. (Redwood coach Will Finnie) does an amazing job with those boys. They just never gave up and we were under it for a good 20 minutes.”

The Giants roared back with goals in the 49th and 51st minutes by Jamie Hughes and Gersch, respectively. Redwood momentarily appeared to grab the lead when Ike Gebhard served a free kick into the box to Hughes, who put the ball into the back of the net but had been flagged for offside.

The Giants continued to push for a winner that would have moved them at least temporarily back into first place. The Peregrine Falcons still have a game Friday against Tam and could have won the league with a win there even with a loss on Thursday.

“I thought about (playing more defensively) but then I said to myself I’d rather go at them and have our offense be our defense than be on our heels,” Ayala said. “Those guys thrive when they’re on the front foot, they thrive when people give them space. The idea was to just withstand it and see if we could create something.”

Archie Williams took the momentum back for the final 10 minutes or so, almost going in front when Finley made a run into the box, pirouetted on the ball, then forced a save at the near post.

“We stayed positive – that was the mindset that we had to maintain because you could see they had all the momentum” Archie Williams’ Jackson Richardson said. “It was a matter of us staying positive, not getting mad at each other, and seeing the game out, which we did.”

Around the county

Tam got goals from Noah Pederson, Marco Caruso, Kenneth Frost, and West Freau to clinch an MCAL playoff spot with a 4-1 win against Marin Catholic. Tam (7-5-4, 3-3-1) moved to 10 points and still has a game against Archie Williams on Friday. MC (7-6-5, 2-2-4), Branson and San Rafael – which beat Terra Linda 2-1 in the night game – are all tied on 10 points.

Branson beat all three teams in the tie and has clinched a spot. Tam beat MC and San Rafael and is in regardless of Friday’s result. Tam moves into fourth with a win or a tie.

Marin Catholic and San Rafael tied each other and will likely need a play-in game on Saturday to determine the final spot in the playoffs.

• Bode Dossey converted a penalty kick and Chris Mao scored on an assist from Drew Holden as Branson (7-7-4) secured a 2-0 win against Kelseyville.