Despite winning their final two games, the Spartans fall short of making playoffs.
by Keenan Moore
photo by Kevin Fleming
The TJ Spartans won their last game of the season, beating the Kennedy Commanders, but they were beaten out for the last playoff spot by fellow Denver Prep team, the North Vikings.
The Spartans were flying high after their big win against West and knew that if they would win this game, they would have a much better chance of making it into the playoffs. It was make or break time for the Spartans.
TJ started out the game with a drive deep into the Commander zone; however, there was only one shot on goal, which was easily blocked by the Kennedy goalkeeper. The Commanders then responded and brought the ball deep into the Spartan zone and, after a mad scramble, they got the ball into the back of the net, taking a 1-0 lead.
The Spartan defense knew that it would have to step up its game and keep the score at 1-0 if they wanted to have any chance at victory. Also, the offense would have to get some more shots on goal if they wanted to overpower the Commander defense. The first half ended with the Spartans still only getting a limited number of shots on the Commanders, and the score remained 1-0 going into halftime.
The second half the Spartans came out firing and got a goal past the Commander keeper courtesy of Senior Defender Tamer Muhammad, who was playing forward for the final game. "Tamer was always right in the middle of the action, so it was an instinct of mine to put him in at forward," said Head Coach Jon Poole.
They had evened the score, and the Spartans were back in the game. To prove that lightening could strike twice, Muhammed got his second goal of the game towards the halfway mark of the second half. The Spartan defense, which included Keenan Moore, Andrew Briss, Edgar Llamas, and Jake Hazan (all seniors), held the Commanders to only two shots for the remainder of the game. Spartan Goalkeeper, Raul Sanchez, saved both Commander strikes, and the game ended with a 2-1 score in favor of the Spartans. “It was really satisfying to get a victory in our last games as Spartans. Tamer played great and all of us on defense kept the game close for the offense. I will always remember the Kennedy and West games when I think of my career playing for TJ,” stated Hazan.
However, the joy of their success was short lived.
The Spartans were aware they would have a hard time making it into the playoffs, and they would need a lot of help from the other teams to make their dreams a reality.
However, halfway through the Spartans last game, Coach Poole received news that North had posted their score late and they had won, eliminating the Spartans from the playoffs. Even though the Spartans had fought valiantly towards the end of the season, it was not enough and brought an end to their playoff hopes, another season ending just short of qualifying for the big show.
The Spartans did not have the season that they were looking for this year, and there are many things that can be attributed to the lack of wins. The offense did not get as many shots as they had wished, but when they did get shots on goal, a lot of them ended up in the back of the net. “Towards the end of the season, we started to come together as a team, and we hope to continue this into the beginning of the season next year, “ Poole said.
The major question that is going to plague the team next year is their defense, as the Spartans will be losing all four of their starting defenders. The junior varsity defenders will have to step up to the plate for the team to have a shot at a winning record next year. Also, they are going to lose both starting keepers, Raul Sanchez and Kyle Martinez. With no full time goalie on the junior varsity team, there will have to be a new goalie inserted into the lineup. It will be a rebuilding year, as Poole will have to almost completely reconstruct the defensive portion of the team.
