By Blach's 8th-grade boys rally to win soccer title

Town Crier Staff Report

Blach Junior High’s eighth-grade boys soccer team rallied from a one-goal deficit to beat Kennedy for the league championship April 8 at Graham Middle School in Mountain View.

After trailing 1-0 early, the Falcons took control of the contest on goals by Martin Silveira and Ben Sitler. In the meantime, Blach’s defense, led by goalie Aaron Shaw, kept Kennedy at bay.

Blach of Los Altos lost to Kennedy (Cupertino) during the regular season.

The Falcons, coached by Chris Darrouzet-Nardi and Mike Marsman, reached the league final by edging Cupertino the week before in a playoff match decided in overtime by penalty kicks.

In the seventh-grade championship, played the same day, Kennedy beat Blach 3-2 in triple overtime.

This game proved much closer than the regular-season contest between these teams, which undefeated Kennedy won 5-1.

“The coaches did a good job of stopping their attack from getting good shots,” Blach athletic director Steve Kane said of Falcon coaches Doug Reid and Peter Higa.

Kennedy was so confident it was going to win, according to Kane, it had a championship banner made prior to the game.