Darlington Falcons girls soccer team host first playoff game in Falcon’s Nest against Loris
Falcons Goalkeeper Brailon Gainey kicking a ball back after a block. PHOTO BY B. KOLE
The Falcons running out of the tunnel to begin the playoff game. PHOTO BY B. KOLE
Freshman Makala O’Neal (right) passing the ball to a teammate. PHOTO BY B. KOLE
By Brayson Aldrich
History was made as the Darlington Falcons hosted the first ever playoff game in the Falcon’s Nest for the girl’s soccer match vs the Loris Lions. The Falcons were coming off a loss to the Hartsville Red Foxes but looked to take a win on this historic night. Loris, however, were coming off a dominant win against the Georgetown Bulldogs and had defeated the Falcons twice in the regular season. The first half started very intensely but good performances by Darlington’s freshman goalkeeper, Brailon Gainey, and Loris’ goalkeeper kept the first half tied without a goal on the board. Going into the second half, the game looked like it could go either way up until the 32 minute mark where freshman Makala O’Neal scored a long goal for the Falcons. The Falcons rode the energy brought by the first goal and kept Lorris from scoring until positioning mistakes allowed for Loris’ Isabella Murtaugh to score two goals around the 12th and 16th minute mark respectively. With time expiring, the Falcons were unable to score another goal. The game ended with Loris winning 2-1. Even with a tough loss, the Falcon’s girl’s varsity soccer team, led by Head Coach Kellie Flowers, showed a lot of improvement from the start of the season and ended it by making history. The team has a lot to look forward to such as the growth of their freshman who stepped up when the light’s were the brightest and the continued chemistry of this core group.