RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany – The Black Forest Academy girls soccer team really hadn’t been pushed much this season, winning all four matches by no fewer than four goals.

Saturday, AFNORTH tested the Falcons for the first time at Ramstein High School. And the Falcons passed it with a 3-1 victory.

“This team really challenged the girls a lot today,” BFA coach Hannah Pineda said. “This was really great to play AFNORTH and have a stronger opponent like them for preparing for future games.”

The boys match had a similar feeling – and not just because the scoreline was same, 3-1 to BFA.

In both matches, the Falcons and Lions were tied 1-1 heading into the final 10 minutes of the match before BFA pulled away with goals in quick succession.

It wasn’t shocking to Falcon boys coach Joe Batluck. AFNORTH, the Division III leader, and BFA handled a common opponent, Ansbach, by the same scoreline (7-0) earlier this campaign.

“We knew it was not going to be a walk in the park in any stretch,” Batluck said. “They definitely pushed us a little bit.

“To play on this field was helpful, and to play against those guys is definitely helpful.”

Girls

The Falcons (5-0) were shocked almost from the opening whistle.

They hadn’t allowed a goal this spring before Saturday, and yet in the third minute, they found themselves trailing. Lion senior attacker Finja Liebing received a pass at the edge of the 18-yard box and looped a shot over BFA goalkeeper Natalie Lawrence.

Despite this gut punch, though, BFA recovered, scoring three consecutive goals to complete the comeback over the Lions (2-1).

“They didn’t let it affect them too much,” Pineda said of giving up the early goal. “They didn’t let it discourage them too much.”

BFA equalized in the 34th minute off a cross from Sierra Tweedy. The ball rolled through the box after the AFNORTH defense and keeper Adelle Bown marked the run of BFA’s Haewon Park to the near post. Waiting on the back side was Anna Yancy, who had the whole net in front of her to score.

It looked as though that might be the last goal in the match – not for lack of the Falcons trying.

The Division II squad peppered Bown with six shots on target in the second half, but the sophomore seemed up to the challenge, especially in the 65th minute. Bown parried three attempts in a 10-second span, including two from point-blank range by Jade Hernandez and Micah Gable.

“She’s extremely skilled with fast reflexes that mostly are just natural,” AFNORTH coach Christy Wise said of Bown. “We’ve trained her just on the basics, and the rest is all her.”

Seven minutes later, the Falcons got the breakthrough.

Hernandez blasted a low shot at Bown, and the ball slipped through her hands and the five-hole before barely trickling over the line.

Then, in the 78th minute, Hana Radi’s corner found Ester Lee at the back post to seal the win.

“It was really great to see a goal,” Pineda said. “I could celebrate really well with them because I knew they had fought for it, really wanted it.”

Wise also praised her team’s effort. She said the Lions had their best start to a match so far this season, but a few minor mistakes ended up being costly against BFA.

“We’re a smaller team, a smaller division, but they played big,” Wise said. “I’m just really proud of the way they supported each other and stayed positive, and never once did they think, ‘That’s it, we’re done.’

“I love the heart of the team.”

Boys

Batluck admits BFA (5-1) struggles to get off the block. Saturday against AFNORTH (3-1) was no exception.

It took until the 59th minute before either broke the deadlock, when BFA’s Isaac Hinkle dribbled through the left side of the box and scored from a tight angle.

That led to a floodgate, especially over the final 11 minutes in which three shots from both squads found the back of the net – with two coming from the Falcons.

In the 72nd minute, Timothy Sivonen headed down a corner onto the feet of David Boyd, who slotted it home. Then, in the 78th minute, Hinkle was tripped up in the box by AFNORTH keeper Nigel DeBruin, and Levi Chapman put the penalty into the lower right corner to make it 3-1.

“Typically, we’ve been a bit of a slow-starting team,” Batluck said. “Once these guys get settled into our game and our game strategy, they begin to find the passes and connect them really well.”

The reason the slow start didn’t hurt the Falcons on Saturday was the defensive effort.

The Lions recorded just two shots on goal, one of which was the penalty following a handball in the box by captain Christian Barone in the 70th minute. Other than that, the back three of Sivonen, Samuel Yakubu and Jack Cox kept the Lions at bay.

“Our back three was fantastic,” Batluck said. “Those guys, they communicate well, and they play well as a unit. I’ve been stressing on these guys all season long the element of brotherhood and playing for one another, and those three guys really exemplify that in a lot of ways.”

Although the Lions left Ramstein with their first loss of the season, coach Manny Duarte said he could take plenty of positives from the match.

First, the team also stymied the Falcons offensive for much of the match, giving up just four shots on net. Secondly, AFNORTH came into the match shorthanded and had a few players pick up injuries Saturday, and yet it kept it close until the end.

“My squad persevered,” Duarte said. “We had a series of injuries before the game, and some key players didn’t make it to this game. We had injuries during the game, and we just kept fighting.”

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