Jackets suffer season-ending loss to Wildcats

ATLANTA — Calhoun’s season came to an end on Saturday night in the Class AAA Elite Eight as they had some unfortunate bounces not go their way combined with a very tough opponent that made the most of their opportunities.

The Jackets fell behind early and despite multiple chances to even things up in the first half, Westminster scored a second goal before the break and rode that momentum to a 4-0 victory to clinch a berth in the Final Four.

Calhoun coach Matt Rice said his team knew coming into the matchup that they had to play their best soccer and get a few breaks, but it just wasn’t their night.

“We knew we were playing a really good team with Westminster, but we were excited and had a good game- plan,” said Rice. “We just had a couple bad breaks and bad bounces in the first half and both of them led to goals. We just couldn’t get the momentum back after that.

“Even in the loss, I am proud of the way our guys played tonight. Their effort from beginning to end was special, and I appreciate that, especially from our seniors. No matter if it was a starter on the field, a reserve coming in or a player on the bench, they were all fully invested in this team and this game. I can’t thank think enough for that.”

Westminster (17-4) jumped on top with a goal in the 13th minute from Watson Jackson off an assist from teammate Allan Xu. Calhoun (14-5-1) had a couple shots on goal that would have tied things up, but Elmer Gutierrez’s shot in the 19th minute was deflected out for a corner and Daniel Isep’s shot in the 29th minute missed high.

The Wildcats put more pressure on by scoring in the 30th minute to double their lead to 2-0 with a goal from Ryan Shaufele.

The Jackets continued to battle after halftime, and goalkeeper Eduardo Fajardo kept the deficit at two with a great save in the 45th minute. The freshman had seven saves total in the game.

Calhoun had a few more chances after that to get a goal, the best coming on an Alex Aguilar free kick in the 48th minute that was saved.

Wesminster proceeded to put the game away with goals in the 60th and 66th minute to add some insurance to their lead. Zander Kassabian scored the first, and Charlie Ham had the final goal of the night off an assist on a corner kick by David Choi.

The Wildcats moved on to play Sonoraville on Tuesday in the Class AAA Final Four.

Rice said he appreciates everything his seniors have done for the team this year and for the program over the last four years and hated to see their high school career come to an end.

“These seniors have made four state tournament appearances, won three region titles and had one region runner-up finish,” said Rice. “They have been a part of a state championship appearance, two Elite Eights and one Sweet 16. Every year they have come in, played hard and made the program better.”

Rice added that he hopes the younger players learned a lot from watching the seniors and he expects the program to do great things in the future.

“We had quality seniors that showed an example of what we expect from the guys behind them,” said Rice. “We’ve got a lot of young guys that made a big impact this year, and we hope to go even further with them.

“The future is bright for Calhoun soccer. As long as the young kids work hard and commit to improving, I expect really good things going forward.”