The Fountain Hills High School boys soccer season ended last Tuesday, Feb. 1. The Falcons had nearly everything stacked against them including injuries, a losing record and a midseason coaching change, but through it all the Falcons stuck together.

Only one player with previous play time missed the finale against Phoenix Country Day. Sophomore Daniel Gonzalez broke his ankle in practice on Monday, Jan. 31, and he received surgery on Tuesday before the final game. The Falcons kept their injured teammate in their thoughts during their last post-game huddle.

Junior Jackson Giardina scored the first goal on Tuesday, but No. 3-ranked Phoenix Country Day outlasted the Falcons and won 11-1. Senior Zane Balzarini had 21 saves in his last game as the Falcons’ goalkeeper.

“I know we ended on a loss, but we still had a good season, I thought,” acting coach Ryan Griggs said. “Their heads are held high right now. I don’t think they took it negatively or anything like that.”

Griggs, only 19 years old, took over coaching duties in 2022 after former coach Matt Pugliano left for North Carolina. Griggs was assisted by track and field coach Kevin Clancy, but the Fountain Hills alumni admits the transition wasn’t perfect. Griggs said it took some time for him and the players to make the best of their situation.

“I used to watch and bring people aside to critique their game instead of coordinating a practice,” Griggs said. “That was definitely a big step, and it was a lot harder on me to start, but I was able to figure it out. I’m glad the guys respected me for the most part. We had some hiccups here and there, but I’m young and they were upset, and I could see why.”

The Falcons were winless, 0-7-1, when Griggs took over. They lost the first game he coached, but after that, the Falcons went on a three-game win streak that included a 11-0 victory over Phoenix Christian. The Falcons lost their last four games and finished the season 3-12-1.

Junior Nico Cini described the season as a disappointment, and junior Joshua Ball called it full of ups and downs. They both mentioned injuries and the adjustments made after Griggs took over coaching. Cini, who played with Griggs two years ago, said he felt more comfortable with Griggs as the coach. Cini added that most of the players felt similar about Griggs, but freshman Tyler Griggs said otherwise.

“Nothing really changed other than him yelling at me more because he had more power over me,” Tyler Griggs said of his big brother. “I couldn’t just ignore him but, other than that, nothing changed. I just got better.”

Tyler Griggs and his childhood friend Griffin Bos both played big minutes for the Falcons as freshmen this season. Fellow freshman J.D. Manley flashed his skills on the field as well, but the club soccer player missed several games for injuries.

The Griggs were honest about the challenges the Falcons faced throughout the season. Similar to the girls soccer team, which saw their roster shrink by eight playerss throughout the season, the boys team had commitment issues. As the season went on, the team and leadership addressed their issues, and the Falcons were able to bond.

“At some practices, it was really annoying because there were only four people,” Tyler Griggs said. “At Saturday practices, I understand it was early in the morning, but people didn’t care enough to even ask us for a ride. They didn’t wake up to it and it was annoying. It had a negative effect on game day because we weren’t all on the same page. Some people missed practices and they didn’t hear this or that.”

“He's right, there was a core group of people, and then there was a few others that tended to miss,” Ryan Griggs added. “When they had work-related reasons, I get that. Even into the season, they were working and stuff like that and it became an issue. After a few weeks of that being an issue, even when I was coaching, I told the guys, ‘Hey, look, regardless of your skill and how good you are, I’m going to give the people who were here at practice playing time to start and you’re not going to play.’ Ever since then, they’ve shown up and it was nice to have a full roster.”

Seniors Balzarini and captain Anthony Kasson were among the core group the Griggs brothers described. The Falcons will miss their leadership and talent next season, and the Falcons will also lose the experience of senior defenders Javier Sanchez and Isaac Kill and senior striker Savion Boone.

Looking toward the future, the Falcons can return 10 of their 15 players. Three are rising seniors, three are rising sophomores and four are rising juniors. The incoming class of freshman will be an important factor in deciding whether or not Fountain Hills will play co-ed soccer next season, but its size is currently uncertain.

Ryan Griggs has some questions in his own life he needs to answer before volunteering to help the soccer team again. He will receive notice on his acceptance into Arizona State University’s nursing program in the next several weeks, and if he is accepted, he will begin clinicals in the fall.

No matter what role Griggs may have with the team next season, the Falcons have several crucial questions for next year. The two most important questions regard the open head coaching positions and roster size. The Falcons were able to finish the 2021-2022 season stronger than they started, but there is a lot of behind-the-scenes work to do before the 2022-2023 season.