Crossfire Takes Fall League Crown Despite Final Game Setback
It would be easy to say Saturday's upset loss to the Maple Valley Rapids at Tahoma High School was due to missing three starters, to erratic officiating or even to not knowing where exactly we were playing in rural King County. But the reality is a hungry opponent came out flying and scored two early goals to propel the Rapids to a surprising 3-2 victory over previously unbeaten Mercado. Yet despite the loss, its first since August at the Northwest Cup final in Spokane, Crossfire ended the fall league season at the top of the table (8-1-3).
Just 4 minutes into the match, the Rapids took the lead they would never relinquish. A counterattack down the left side led to a hard shot that Craig blocked but could not control, resulting in a follow-up header for a 1-0 lead. In the 12th minute a ground cross was tapped in for a two-goal advantage. The Rapids totally dominated the early part of the match. Crossfire regrouped to get a few things going. But they constantly made more unforced errors than a tennis player having a bad day and managed only two shots (giving up nine) in the first half that ended 2-0.
Mercado had a better start to the second half, but the Rapids were taking more advantage of a loosely officiated game with aggressive play that repeatedly stymied the Crossfire attack. Just as it appeared the boys could mount a comeback, Will got tagged with a foul in the penalty area in the 67th minute. The Rapids shooter looked like a flamboyant peacock as he bobbed and strutted before firing in the PK for a seemingly insurmountable 3-0 lead.
Give the boys credit. They kept plugging and were finally rewarded when Brandon laid up a nice cross for a James header to get Crossfire on the board in the 76th. The Rapids seemed content to run out the time. But as James struggled in the final minute to get off a shot, the referee awarded him a mysterious PK to apparently even things out. While Trevor rang up the score and raced to midfield with the ball for the ensuing kickoff, this writer is convinced the referee knew he wouldn't be giving any stoppage time for a serious attempt at a Crossfire tie despite numerous "discussions" and yellow card bookings in the half. And thus went the boys' undefeated run through the league.
Nevertheless Crossfire takes the regular season title and now must reset its goals on the upcoming Commissioner's Cup tournament beginning in early January.
Final score: MVP Rapids 3 Crossfire 2
