WEEKI WACHEE — The battle for positioning in Class 3A, District 7 has been ruthless. And with Fivay trying to fend off Weeki Wachee for third place, Friday night’s boys soccer game was as meaningful as it gets.
Weeki Wachee, on pace for the best campaign in the program’s three-year history, came back in the second half to top the Falcons 2-1.
The victory seized third place for the Hornets (6-3, 6-3) and put them only one win from last year’s season total, when the team went 7-7-5 in Shane Tarbox’s first season as coach.
Fivay (7-3-1, 5-3-1) was on the short side of a lopsided time of possession in the first half, but despite being outshot 8-3, the Falcons put their lone shot on goal into the back of the net only six minutes into regulation. Connor Magli lined a pass to Jacob Hindman on the right side of the box before Hindman lined a cross-field shot off the inside of the left post past Weeki Wachee keeper Mike Van Slee.
“We’ve been notoriously slow starters,” Tarbox said. “We usually give up the first goal, but the kids always seem to come on strong after that.”
That was one of only two shots on goal that Van Slee (one save) faced. The young, restructured defense for the Hornets held strong.
Down 1-0 after halftime, Weeki Wachee took only eight minutes to knot the score. Dakota Johnson connected with Mike Tinari on a short pass directly in front of the net. Tinari scored his fourth goal of the season, lining a shot past Fivay keeper Luke Theede (three saves).
“Mike is always in the middle of the action with the ball,” Tarbox said. “He is so valuable to what we do offensively.”
Tinari added his fourth assist of the year when he centered a beautiful pass to Bailey Hypes in front of Theede. The forward, playing in only his second varsity contest, scored his first goal, which ended up being the winner.