By Ryan Butler
Despite a loss to Plant in the championship game, the Newsome High School varsity soccer team recently finished second in the 5A-7 district soccer tournament in Riverview. The 3-1 loss set up an away game against 5A-8 winner East Lake.
After jumping to an early lead against the Panthers in the championship game, three unanswered goals proved the difference in the game. The Wolves’ Ajay Sequeria scored in the game’s opening moments, but his team didn’t get another score in the game. Meanwhile, Connor Forsyth scored goals for Plant Forsyth in the first half, and the go-ahead goal off the foot of Seth Rinkevich in the second half. Auston Molina secured the district championship with an easy goal set up on a break away with under five minutes remaining in the game.
If it wasn’t for a dramatic ending to the semi-finals, Newsome would not have advanced to the next round. After Wharton missed its opportunity in the first of the sudden death penalty kicks, Newsome’s Tim Maine kicked the winning goal.
Wharton, the number four seed, hung surprisingly tight with the top-seeded Wolves. The only goals in regulation came within a minute of each other. Ajay Sequeria made a great individual effort to get through the Wildcats’ defense in the box and blast home a goal for the Wolves in the 29th minute. But Wharton responded seconds later with the equalizer after a scrum outside the net. The two teams would each get several scoring opportunities the rest of the game but neither could knock home the winning goal.
Because of their undefeated district record in the regular season, the Wolves were able to skip the first round of the tournament.
