Pirate Power
by Riley Wootten, junior editor
FOLEY, Ala.—On February 6 FHS Boys Varsity soccer competed against Oak Mountain in the season opening Southern Shootout tournament at Owa Park in Foley. The Pirates lost with a score of 3-1, moving them down in the tournament’s bracket.
“We played slow in the first twenty minutes of the game which impacted our mentality but as a team we continued to hustle and kept them from getting goals throughout most of the game,” said junior Darwin Hickey.
Oak Mountain scored a goal within the first few minutes of the game and later on earned a penalty kick securing them two goals just before halftime. The Pirates’ defense stayed strong and goalie Hunter Braz passed the ball upfield while still guarding the goal.
“The first half of the game we played sloppily but after they scored we started to find our rhythm and focus on communicating as a team and getting the ball back,” said senior Patrick Burns.
Oak Mountain is first in the state leading against Fairhope at fifth. The winning trophy goes to the team with the highest number of goals, which anticipated an aggressive game between both teams.
“We knew Oak Mountain was a tough team and knew it would be a hard game to play,” said junior Jojo Joines. “The whole preseason we’ve worked on our shape, how we wanted to move the ball, our press, and even set pieces to make sure we were at the top of our game and prepared for the season.”
With only a few minutes left in the game, center back Joines scored the one goal of the night with a header off a free kick. Midfielder Max Reger was pushed down on his breakaway to score a goal earning Fairhope a penalty kick that unfortunately overpowered the goal.
“We practice every day and make sure to study film and our opposing teams to adapt to what skills they use to maneuver the ball. If we had pressed the ball more and changed our mindsets for this game the outcome could have been a win for Fairhope,” said senior Cody Ramos.
The Pirates continue this tournament with high spirits and prepare to come out with a win in their following games this Friday and Saturday against St. Luke’s Episcopal and Thompson High School.
