Fuquay-Varina soccer scored probably the biggest upset in the program’s history on Monday night, beating visiting Green Hope 1-0. The Falcons sit atop the Tri-9 and are ranked 4th in the state by EUROSPORTSCOREBOARD.COM. Sarah Burns assisted with a diagonal through ball that Sarah Yoder buried in the left corner of the net with just seven minutes remaining for the game winner.

The victory is quite a turnaround from the previous meeting when Green Hope (14-2-0) won, 6-1. Fuquay coach, James Mountford credited excellent defense and the play of goalkeeper Abby Goins with keeping the potent Falcons at bay.

The unlikely win was just what Fuquay needed. Following a 0-0 draw at Holly Springs last Wednesday, Mountford said his was in a must-win situation going forward. “We’re going to practice as hard as we can, and every game play like it’s a playoff game,” he said then. “Because it really is – every game is like a play-in game.”

Last Wednesday, both Fuquay-Varina and Holly Springs entered their match needing a win. Neither got one as the two teams battling for the Tri-9’s fifth and final playoff berth parted ways with a 0-0 draw.

“I was very proud of the effort tonight. This is the way it should have been tonight, a tie, because both teams deserved to win,” Fuquay coach James Mountford said. “Both teams came out with a lot of effort, a lot of energy. I think this is the most energy we’ve played with all season – for a complete game. We’ve had spurts here and there. But for a complete game and through overtime, I was very, very pleased with our effort tonight.”

At 2-5-6 in conference play, the Golden Hawks held a slight edge over Fuquay at 3-8-1, entering this week. Fuquay’s only senior, Jessie Davis has been part of playoff teams each season, and she doesn’t want to miss out in her senior year. She said she’s trying to encourage her younger teammates, and she can see the team improving. So what’s she telling her teammates?

“Just stay positive, because we’re a team that sometimes has issues,” she said. “But we’ve been staying positive, so we’ve been doing better. This was probably our best game. You just can’t give up. You’ve got to go full out or it’s not even worth it.”

Fuquay Softball

The Bengals (9-6, 8-3) had a rough week, dropping games to Apex (12-2, 11-1) and Holly Springs (12-2, 10-2). With the losses, Fuquay is no longer in the driver’s seat for an 11th conference championship in the last twelve years.

Apex downed Fuquay 5-2 last Tuesday despite three hits from Hannah Wallace and strong pitching from Alyssa Dean. On Friday, Holly Springs nipped the Bengals 2-0.

Fuquay continues its home stand this week. The Bengals were scheduled to host Green Hope (6-9, 5-6) on Tuesday night after press time, and Athens Drive (7-7, 5-5) visits on Friday evening. Fuquay won both previous meetings with those two.