Nation Ford coach Kenny Halas said his team has been focusing on defense all week long ahead of a must-win home game Thursday night against local rival and region foe Fort Mill.
The Falcons turned defense into attack at every attempt, eventually running out 4-0 winners against the Yellow Jackets. With the win, Nation Ford, who improved to 13-7-1 overall and 7-1 in Region 3-5A locked up a No. 1 seed in the upcoming Class 5A state playoffs.
The favorable seeding means that Nation Ford, which finishes the regular season as co-region champions with Clover High School, will have homefield advantage in at least the first round of the postseason.
First-round games will be played Monday, May 2.
“Pressure, pressure, pressure,” said Halas. “I felt we were a little nervous at first, but when we got the first goal, it opened up. It was a game changer.”
Junior striker Adrian Garthaus opened the scoring with a goal just minutes before the halftime whistle, then notched two more goals in the second half to complete a hat-trick in the 60th minute.
Senior Andrys Corrales added the cherry on top with a well-timed header in the 67th minute.
While Nation Ford needed to win, Halas said his team was more concerned about the defensive shutout. Both Clover and Nation Ford were in contention to earn the No. 1 seed, but both teams were deadlocked on the first three tiebreakers: Head-to-head result, points, and lowest goals allowed in head-to-head matches.
If Nation Ford beat Fort Mill and gave up no more than one goal, the Falcons would earn that seed by giving up the lowest goals allowed during region play (six for Clover, four for Nation Ford).
The Falcons’ defense did their job, holding Fort Mill to few opportunities throughout the night.
Garthaus opened the scoring with a close-range tap-in just moments before the halftime break. His second came shortly into the second half, when he followed up on a Luke Marin shot that the Fort Mill goalkeeper parried away.
And the junior finished his hat-trick when he won and converted a 60th minute penalty with a cool strike to the keeper’s right. Corrales made it 4-0 just a few minutes later when he latched onto a cross from midfield and nudged it just over the keeper and into the net.
With a loss in their final region game, the Yellow Jackets dropped to 7-9-1 overall and 4-4 in region while finishing third in the region. Fort Mill will now kick off the first round of the postseason on the road.
Fort Mill coach Mark Seren said he believes his young team can make a difference if it focuses on pressuring the ball.
“We’re a young team,” Seren said. “We were mostly sophomores against mostly seniors tonight. These are valuable lessons to learn. It’s an unfortunate price to pay for experience. I see a very competitive game. … I think we have a chance.”
Halas said his team will take the playoffs one game at a time.
“I think we’re confident,” he said. “We have to control us. Whoever we play, it doesn’t matter to us. We have to be composed, execute, and when we do that, we usually end up on the right side of the equation.”
