Battlefield junior forward Troy Allaire got the ball behind the Cox goaltender and had an oppor-tunity to tie the top-ranked team in the country according to ESPN Rise, but his shot went wide to the right and a one-time attempt by junior defender Colin Laskody went off his foot wrong with seven minutes left in the game.
That was the last serious chance the Bobcats could muster in a 2-1 loss against the Falcons Saturday in the Group AAA boys soccer state championship at Westfield High School.
"We should have had that goal," said Battlefield coach Ott Pimsaen, "but overall, I think that we're happy with the result."
The Bobcats didn't hang their heads after a loss against a team with four college re-cruits, one All-American and a scoring margin of 94-9 entering the game. And considering the disparity in shots, 22 for Cox to 9 by Battlefield, many Bobcats players have pride after losing a competitive game.
"We knew it was a tall order," said senior forward Adam Clements, who scored the only goal for the Bobcats in the 53rd minute, "We're happy that we went out there and took care of it and we may be disappointed, but we aren't sad."
The Falcons (25-0-0) scored two goals in the first half, one a 23-yard rip by junior back Chris Albiston that beat Bobcat goalkeeper Jack Eaton in the top half corner of the goal in the eighth minute. Fifteen minutes later, junior forward Drew Hartell scored from the left side of the box near the post that beat Eaton.
Eaton saved four other shots during the game, but Cox's abilities kept the Bobcats from mounting much if any of a counterattack.
"They were just that good," said Pimsaen.
Battlefield (17-4-2) was making its first-ever state tournament appearance in boys soccer since the school opened in 2004. Coming into the game, the Bobcats had won 11 straight in captur-ing the Cedar Run District regular-season and tournament titles and the Northwest Region title.
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