THUNDER BAY – Four minutes into Thursday’s championship final, the St. Ignatius Falcons got the wake-up call they needed.
That’s how long it took Ben Furtado to blast the ball past keeper Adam Cieslik, giving the St. Patrick Saints an early 1-0 lead.
It only took the Falcons, winners of 18 of the past 21 high school boys soccer championships, seven minutes to get back on even ground.
Collin Mackett scored in traffic deep in the St. Patrick zone, tying the game in the 11th minute, then Jag Arena put the Falcons in front for good in the 23rd, tipping home a long free kick from mid-field to make it 2-1.
“We knew as soon as that ball crossed into our net that we weren’t giving up,” Mackett said. “We were going to keep on fighting and getting that goal back really pushed out mentality to encourage us to keep going.”
Arena later score a penalty kick in the 29th and the Falcons went on to down the Saints 4-1, giving them back-to-back titles.
“Two years in a row to win, it feels good,” Arena said, his team already prepping for another OFSAA run in Sarnia, Ont. starting on June 6.
It wasn’t the start they were looking for, but they didn’t let it get them down, he said.
“We bounced back right away. We created opportunities, played solid D and scored when we had the chances,” said the 17-year-old, his team entering the playoffs as the top seed with a 4-0-1 record.
Contributing to the victory made it all that much sweeter, Arena said.
“I knew he was going to play it in the box. I saw it coming in, tried to get a foot on it and it just went past the goalie.”
The penalty-shot goal was the result of a handball inside the penalty area and pitted the midfielder against keeper J.J. Blackburn, a familiar face.
“I know the goalie really well. He knows I go to the one side, so I went to the other side,” Arena said.
Mackett said it wasn’t easy getting to this point.
“It’s been a tough season. We definitely came out here wanting to give it our best shot and we wanted that OFSAA chances to be down in Sarnia. It feels great to be back at OFSAA again. We were there last year, had the chance to get third place and we’re just looking forward to the next step. It’s not done yet.”
The Falcons Daniel Peace had the lone goal of the second half, scoring in the 63rd minute of the chippy contest, that saw several yellow cards handed out and a frightening collision that left St. Ignatius defender Michael Carpino’s arm in a sling as the medals were handed out at Fort William Stadium.
St. Ignatius coach Frank Ianni said the team stayed true to its identity after the slow start.
“We hadn’t been down all year. This is the first time we were down a goal, and a lot of teams would have changed the way they played, chased the game. We just stuck to our plan, continued to do what we were doing and I knew opportunities would fall our way,” Ianni said.
“Sure enough, it didn’t take long to tie it, and once we tied it, I feel like things shifted.”
The Saints only managed one shot in the second half, their chances limited.
