The Pam Pack players walked off the field the way a good team is supposed to: heads held high as the Washington faithful serenaded them with applause. Unfortunately for the Pack, it was their last bow.
For only the third time in school history the Washington boys’ soccer team advanced to the third round of the playoffs, but it would not be headed to the fourth as it fell 3-2 to Carrboro on Tuesday.
On a brisk night, the Pam Pack came out on fire, scoring two goals in the first two minutes of the game. However, in the second half it was the Jaguars that brought the heat, ripping off three unanswered goals to rally to victory.
Washington (18-2-2), the No. 2 seed, held a 2-0 lead at halftime, but Carrboro (16-5-2), the No. 7 seed, was just getting warmed up and stormed the Pack in the second stanza.
“I told my guys that we were playing a great team and they’re not done,” Washington coach Jimmy Kozuch said. “I told them that three goals would win the game today and that if we could be the first one to three that it would be us tonight. Unfortunately, they were able to shut us down in the second half.”
The Pack nearly got three in the first half as it jumped all over the Jaguars. Washington took a 1-0 lead when William Page scored a rare goal with his arm, as his throw-in escaped the Carrboro defense and hit the back of the net less than a minute into the game.
Shortly after, captain Alex Donadio juked his way through the Jags defense and rifled crossing pass to Sergio Higuera, who scored on a diving header.
“We came out firing,” Kozuch said. “We were way more physical than they were. We were faster then they were to start the game off. We put a lot of pressure on them and because of that we were able to create some opportunities and capitalize on them.”
The Pam Pack would continue to harass Carrboro in the first half and nearly scored a third goal on a few occasions, but the ball did not bounce its way.
In the second half, the Jags punched one in early and from there the momentum was clearly on their side as they scored two more goals to edge past Washington.
The Pam Pack finished the year with a school record 18 wins and Kozuch said this season has been a stellar one.
“The season on a whole has been great,” Kozuch said. “It’s been very enjoyable. They guys have been great. We had a positive mentality from everybody and when everybody gets along we can put it all together. It made for a very exciting year.”