It’s over. After a devastating overtime 2-1 loss to Magruder, the boys soccer team’s season came to an unexpected finish on Tuesday, Nov. 9.

The Cats had a memorable season this past fall, winning a division title early on in the season, as well as posting an  astounding 11-2-1 record. Prior to their defeat, the boys played two playoff matches, one against Wootton, the other against Northwest.

Against Wootton the team was able to come out on top with solid goals to take the early lead in front of their home crowd. They finished the game 4-1, cutting short Wootton’s season and propelling the team to an anticipated matchup with Northwest.

The first time the Cats matched up with Northwest, the boys got out with a 1-0 win in the remaining three minutes of the second overtime. This time, one overtime was all it took, thanks to a beautiful 45-yard chip-shot from sophomore midfielder Juan Ortiz to seal the deal with just two minutes remaining.

The team went on to face Magruder, the only team in the county to hand WJ a loss in the regular season (a 3-2 overtime defeat on Sept. 7).  Coming into the match, there were tensions present after a brawl that cleared both benches in the last game, as well as the fact that these were the top two seeded teams in the state playoff bracket. After a gruelingly close 1-1 finish in regulation, thanks to consistent defensive play from senior captain Daniel Spencer, the game went into overtime, a situation neither team was unfamiliar with.

Despite desperate efforts to move the ball down the field, the team struggled to clear the ball out of their half, and after kicking the ball around in the box in front of the goal in a manner reminiscent to that of first graders, Magruder capitalized on a golden opportunity and ended WJ’s run at a state title.

“It was an unfortunate ending to a great season, and we have a lot of players returning next year and hopefully we’ll see them again [to avenge the loss],” said junior striker Noah Sheetz-Ziegel about the game.

Luckily, the team returns a majority of its players, including leaders in the goals (Sheetz-Ziegel) and assists (Ortiz) category. With a foundation that also includes sophomore striker Mateo Arenas, who had seven goals this season,  and skilled midfielder Gerry Madden the team will likely compete for a state title again next year.

*Coach Mike Williams could not be reached for comment.