The T.C. Williams boys soccer team had a hefty advantage in chances during its April 29 match against West Potomac. But all that mattered for the Wolverines was James Taylor’s goal in the 75th minute was enough to force overtime.
Tied at 1, West Potomac had a chance to steal the game from its Patriot District foe. But the chances kept coming for the Titans, who finally took advantage when Conor Boyle scored the game-winning goal with less than three minutes remaining.
"They played well," head coach Andrew Peck said of his Wolverines after the 2-1 loss. "As usual, the end of the game didn’t turn out to the result that we wanted to see."
West Potomac lost to West Springfield 5-2 on April 3, dropping the Wolverines’ record to 3-7-1.
Against T.C. Williams, freshman goalkeeper Rafael Morales showed his athleticism, making several diving saves to keep the Wolverines in the game. Morales was not on the field when the Titans scored their first goal — he had received a yellow card — and TC’s second goal came when Boyle’s shot deflected off a Wolverine.
"Their defender hit it with his head and tried to clear it," Boyle said of the action prior to the goal. "I was just standing there and it popped right under my foot. I took a step back, I swung my leg and it was going into the left corner. Their defender dove [for the ball to] hit his foot so it wouldn’t go in but he ended up hitting it right in the opposite side.
"I was ecstatic. I was so happy. I feel like we really deserved that win. We had so many chances that game that we just couldn’t put in."
Peck praised his goalkeeper after the game.
Morales is "very athletic and was able to come out and cut a lot of the through balls off," Peck said. "You can’t do too much about the end of the game when it deflects off your player."
Taylor scored West Potomac’s goal off a corner kick from senior midfielder Kyle Wilson.
Peck also praised senior sweeper Kwasi Owusu, referring to him as one of the team’s standouts.
West Potomac has wins over Falls Church (4-1), Herndon (2-0) and Lee (3-1) this season. It also finished in a 3-all tie with Woodson. The Wolverines finished 1-5-1 in district play.
West Potomac hosts Yorktown at 7 p.m. on May 7 for senior night and concludes its regular season at Hayfield on May 13.