Falls Church High School Boys Soccer Team Takes Championship After 36-Year Drought

(Editor's note: The following information was provided to Patch from Fairfax County Public Schools.)

The Jaguars faced off in the conference championship against the Wakefield Warriors Friday at FCHS. The Jaguars had lost to the Warriors in the regular season, 0-4.  

For Wakefield, the combination of that season win and having knocked out Mount Vernon and Thomas Jefferson to get to the finals, had them feeling confident.  

The Jaguars on the other hand, were going to have to make a big change from their first face-off and work around several injuries that had occurred. They had also gone for 36 years without having won a championship. The odds were against them, but still they rose.

FCHS players Mario Duarte, Eynnar Claros, Henry Palencia, and Carlos Gutierrez were all injured shortly before the finals. But their teammates didn’t let this get them down.  

Despite being injured, Carlos still helped lead the team as he did throughout the season. Teammates Will Mejia and Leonardo Quiroga were also strong team leaders, encouraging their teammates not just throughout the season but in the grueling match up for the championship.  

Rodrigo Maranon, Luis Lozano, Jesus Argote and Armin Cordova helped fill the holes created from the injuries, coming in at a key time and giving a solid performance that helped lead to what head coach Kris Benton calls a true team success story.

It was a battle between two teams who love to possess the ball. The tight match was 0-0 at halftime. After a confident halftime speech from the coaching staff of Coach Benton, Harrop, and Lee, the Jaguars came out with a powerful punch early on in the second half.  

With new players stepping up, the Jaguars were able to maintain possession and punch-in a goal early in the second half. Once they had the lead, the Jaguars fended off Wakefield attacks left and right. Good defense allowed the Jaguars to hold onto their lead, and bring the Capitol Conference Championship to FCHS for the first time in 36 years.

(Information courtesy of FCPS.)