The Fountain Hills High School soccer team had a bittersweet end to senior night as the Falcons fell 3-1 to Scottsdale Christian Academy last Friday, Jan. 21. This was the Falcons’ first region loss, and it ended a three-game winning streak.

The Falcons were two days removed from their biggest win of the season, 11-0 over Phoenix Christian. The Falcons played with 10 instead of 11 players and their starting goalie, senior Zane Balzarini, was nursing a leg injury, but they still bested the Cougars by mercy rule. Balzarini would return to the lineup for senior night.

Sophomore Jaxson Butcher plays goalkeeper for his club team and was the obvious choice to replace Balzarini on Wednesday. Butcher traded places with junior Jackson Giardina in the second half, and both substitutes recorded one save each.

Butcher wanted to play but most of the action was on the opposite side of the field from him. In the first half against Phoenix Christian, the Falcons built a 5-0 lead with goals from senior Anthony Kasson, sophomore Jayden Harned and junior Nico Cini. Butcher was itching to run, and he scored two goals within the first 10 minutes of the second half.

“I wanted to play field and I wanted to score,” Butcher said. “It was more mentality, I guess. When you’re bored back there you have nothing left to lose, so you just get up the field and try to score.”

Harned led the Falcons with five goals scored, Kasson added three, Butcher scored twice and Cini had one goal. On Friday, only Giardina was able to score a goal. Giardina’s goal happened late when the Falcons were down 3-0, but Balzarini still said it put a smile on his face.

“I don’t really think of the significance of it being senior night,” Balzarini said. “I just think of it as another game. I understand it’s senior night, but you can’t change the fact that you win or lose when you’re up against a good team.”

Balzarini allowed two scores in the first half that he normally would have stopped. Balzarini blamed himself for not grabbing the “easy pickups,” but his teammates didn’t want him to shoulder the blame alone. The Falcons play as a team on the field, and they celebrated senior night as a family in the Falcon Nest afterwards with cookies and cake despite the loss.

The coaches on both sides were less happy about the end of the game than the players. Ryan Griggs and Kevin Clancy were upset that an altercation on the field escalated to a fight in the last few minutes. They will also have to game plan around missing a player due to a red card.

Kasson fell to the ground multiple times on Friday, and near the end of the game, he collided with two Scottsdale players. Kasson lost control of the ball and lay on the ground, and while still on the ground, one of the Scottsdale players dribbled around Kasson’s body as if to shield himself from the defenders.

When the Scottsdale player moved away from Kasson, who was still on the ground, senior Javier Sanchez slide tackled the opposing player to take the ball away. A Scottsdale player then ran up to Sanchez and started to throw a punch. That’s when Giardina ran over and joined the fray.

Both players were immediately rewarded with red cards and ejection. Play was then stopped while Kasson was helped to the sideline. Kasson was able to walk and was in good spirits after the game was over, but Giardina will not be able to play in the Falcons’ next game because of his red card.

“Scrappy soccer, to say the least,” Balzarini said. “It’s kind of reoccurring with our team, but having another scrappy team with us was just not a good combination at all. It got scary.”

The Falcons only had three games after senior night, and two more after this article is published. On Tuesday, Jan. 25, the Falcons traveled to BASIS, and this Thursday, they host Veritas Prep at 6p.m. The last game of the season will be a home game against Phoenix Country Day on Tuesday, Feb. 1, at 6 p.m.

The seniors hope to end their high school careers on a high note. Senior Savion Boone says he won’t take his last games for granted after missing some time for sickness, and senior Isaac Kill said he wants to finish the season with the whole team. No matter how the season ends, the senior Falcons help leave an impact at Fountain Hills.

“They are very helpful, actually,” Butcher said. “I think having experience in high school soccer from people who have played it for four years helps you as an underclassman. They tell you where to go and what to do in high school games, which is a lot different than club soccer.”