East Mountain boys soccer comes up short against Santa Fe Prep
Take away the first couple of minutes of each half during East Mountain’s Sept. 14 matchup against the visiting Santa Fe Prep Blue Griffins, and the Timberwolves might’ve pulled off an upset against one of the best 3A teams in the state.
But the Blue Griffins scored a goal in the opening minute of the match, added another a few minutes later, and tallied one more in the first minute of the second half to go home with a 3-1 win.
“Unbelievable game,” East Mountain head coach John Larson said.
Santa Fe Prep took the opening kickoff and attacked immediately, manufacturing a 1-0 advantage in a little under 60 seconds.
“We just weren’t ready to come out,” Larson said.
The T’wolves were still trying to find their footing when the Griffins scored another goal in the third minute.
East Mountain countered three times in the next 30-plus minutes, but each shot was saved by Prep’s goalkeeper.
The Griffins scored even faster in the second half, sending the opening kickoff into the 18-yard box and punching in their third goal in under 20 seconds.
Bodie Larson got the T’wolves on the board in the 51st minute after a booming goal kick from teammate Brycen Smith sailed into the Griffins' side of the field. Larson secured the ball off a Prep defender’s deflection, took one touch and then lofted a left-footed floater over the Griffins’ goalkeeper.
“It took a high bounce, the defender had a bad touch and he expected the keeper to come out, and he didn’t, and I just chipped it over him,” Bodie Larson said.
“Brycen got the assist on that,” coach Larson added.
The T’wolves had another opportunity to score in the 54th on a penalty kick by Kyle Hofmann, but the shot hit the crossbar.
“That’s how close it was,” coach Larson said, adding, “We were able to get our rhythm and play them 50-50 for most of the game, but they’re probably the best team in 3A in state, so I’m very pleased with where we ended up.”