It was a split week for the Fountain Hills High School boys soccer team, which won one match and lost one in its first week of all-region play.

The Falcons’ first match last week was against Phoenix Country Day School on Jan. 14. FHHS fell to the Eagles by a score of 4-0.

Fountain Hills’ next match was two days later against Glendale Prep Academy. The Falcons beat the Griffins 5-2.

Boys soccer has two games on its schedule for this week. The first match was yesterday, Jan. 21, against Red Rock.

The second match is today, Jan. 22, against Scottsdale Christian Academy. The match is away and will start at 6 p.m.

Phoenix Country

Going into Tuesday’s match up against Phoenix Country Day School, coach Matt Pugliano and his squad were expecting to face some high level competition.

“They’re a talented squad with a high level of competency,” Pugliano said. “I thought this game was really a microcosm of the whole high school sports experience in this day and age. On one team, you have a ton of players who participate in club sports around the year, and on the other you have a bunch of players who come out and work hard throughout the season but aren't always playing a sport.”

The Eagles scored early in the game when their right forward headed in a goal off a cross. Phoenix Country’s three remaing goals were scored in a similar manner.

Despite the lopsided outcome, the Falcons fought to stay in the game but were unable to finish their chances to score.

“Not to be outdone, we would have our own chances but were unable to put them into the net,” Pugliano said. “A great cross from Jackson Giardiana would be the best chance we had all night. These games are tough, but as we said in the postgame huddle, sometimes there are just going to be people who are better than you at a particular skill, game, job, etc. It’s about working hard to make yourself better every time you step into a role.”

Glendale Prep

Pugliano said it took the Falcons a moment to get used to the turf they were playing on in last week’s away game against Glendale Prep but, once they did, FHHS settled into a rhythm.

“Once we got our footing, we were able to push forward a bit more, as Captain Will Eggert would get his first of three assists on the night with a nice cross put home by junior Finn Hudoba, his first of three as well,” Pugliano said.

Glendale Prep ended up scoring off a penalty and free kick but it wasn’t enough to keep up with the Falcons.

“It was great to get a solid win on the road, despite the circumstances, but you can only control what you do, which is what we told the boys at the end of the night,” Pugliano said. “Sometimes things aren’t going to go the way you thought, but you have to keep on going in the face of adversity.”