Boys soccer: Archie Williams rallies late, returns to MCAL final

The third time was the charm for the Archie Williams High boys soccer team after losing its first two meetings against Tam this season. The Peregrine Falcons will be hoping for similar vibes on Saturday as they advance to their third consecutive MCAL title game — still looking for their first win — following a 3-1 comeback win in the semifinals on Wednesday.

“Everyone keeps telling us we’re due for one,” Archie Williams coach Rene Ayala said. “On Saturday, nothing is given to us. What we did today, we just earned an opportunity to finally play for another championship and MCALs has been so elusive. We’re confident that we’re going to put our best foot forward. We’ve got respect for whoever it is. Whether its San Rafael or Terra Linda, we know that it’s going to be a challenge.”

Archie Williams will face either No. 2 San Rafael or No. 3 Terra Linda in the title game. The boys final is set to kick off at 4 p.m. Saturday at San Rafael High with the girls final to follow.

Archie Williams made it to the previous two finals as a No. 2 seed and a No. 1 seed, falling to Redwood both times. The Peregrine Falcons (12-5-3), seeded fourth this year, vanquished Redwood on penalties in the first round then had to come to Mill Valley and battle the top-seeded Red-tailed Hawks (12-4-4).

Tam came out with the wind at its back and put together an impressive first half, hitting the post once and seeing two other scoring opportunities ruled out due to offside flags. The Red-tailed Hawks were impressive going into the wind as well, breaking through in the 59th minute when sophomore Marco Caruso got behind the defense on a breakaway and pinged a shot off the far post to make it 1-0.

The Peregrine Falcons hadn’t been able to create much with the wind at their backs to that point. As the wind really began to gust in the final 15 minutes, the Peregrine Falcons began to soar, scoring twice in four minutes and three times in 11 minutes to rally past Tam.

Henry Miller started the comeback with a goal in the 65th minute then Archie Williams turned Tam over around midfield in the 68th minute and went on a counterattack. Reigning MCAL player of the year Sean Chamberlin played a ball out wide to Devin Singh, who unleashed a powerful shot on frame.

“All credit to (Chamberlin),” Singh said. “He’s a great player. He drags so much attention that by the time I get the ball, there’s nobody on me. I saw the goal. I looked up. It’s 1-1, it’s the MCAL semifinals. You’ve got nothing to lose so I just ripped it.”

Singh’s shot pinged off the far post and found its way into the back of the net, marking the third time a post had been struck in the game.

The same post played a role in the final goal as Charlie Hinkleman got the ball outside the 18-yard box in the 76th minute. His shot went off the post and in to give Archie Williams a 3-1 lead.

“That was the most euphoric moment of my life, I think,” Hinkleman said. “It honestly felt surreal running to the sideline celebrating with all the boys. It was magical.”

The win sends Archie Williams into its seventh consecutive final in all competitions dating back to the 2024 MCAL title game. The Peregrine Falcons went 0-3 in finals that year but finished with a flourish last season to win North Coast Section and NorCal championships.

“It’s such an amazing opportunity,” Chamberlain said of Saturday’s final. “I’ve got to give a shout out to our defense. Our defense was locked down today. We always work with each other and pass out of the press and work up forward. Our defense has helped us all three years. We’ve had that dog mentality where we just work harder than everyone.”

That mentality was in display in the first half as the Peregrine Falcons staved off the Red-tailed Hawks, who came out flying from the opening minute.

“The first 20 minutes could have easily gotten out of hand,” Ayala said. “We could have easily been down four just the way they were peppering us. I don’t know how many corners they got in the first 10 minutes. … They just set the tone right away so for us to come out of the half 0-0 felt like a huge win.”

Tam looked to momentarily have found the breakthrough in the 18th minute after a corner kick. The ball was cleared out to Kenneth Frost who launched a shot from about 40 yards out on target. Archie Williams goalie Aidan Dunn retreated toward his line to try to make a play on the ball as two Tam players crashed the goal. The ball nestled into the back of the net but the referee ruled that Dunn had been interfered with and wiped off the goal.

About a minute later, Caruso received the ball about 40 yards from goal, made a nice turn and took a shot from distance that hit the far post and deflected right across the face of goal without crossing the line.

“The one that went wide, I gave it a little tip,” Dunn said. “It was a little unfortunate because (Caruso) was going to my right side and it ended up hitting off the calf of Hayden (Bremer), my center back, and it deflected left side so it was kind of a split-second touch. Luckily it came off the post. The post was definitely on my side today.”

Caruso, who scored a hat trick against Archie Williams in a 4-3 victory last week, was causing problems for the Peregrine Falcons again in the 37th minute. Caruso played a through ball to Luke Nurney, who put the ball into the back of the net but the lineman’s flag was up for offside.

“They were knocking at the door,” Archie Williams center back Isaac Terry said. “They had the one goal where Aidan was fouled on and they had the one offside call on the goal but we just kept our composure. Earlier in the season we might have gotten a little more negative and started sulking and given up but I think it just came down to effort.  … This could have been our last MCAL game so why not leave everything on the pitch?”