Jaguars Can't Capitalize on First Half Chances, Fall to Oakton 2-0

Despite a performance that head coach Todd Spitalny described as “embarrassing,” Oakton found itself just lucky enough to beat Falls Church 2-0 and advance to the second round of the Northern Region tournament. Bubba Delgado struck in the 44^th minute and again with 35 seconds remaining to seal the win.

The Jaguars came out with inspired play as they generally outhustled the Cougars to the ball and earned several quality scoring chances in the first half. Javier Iporre’s speed and timing made him the benefactor of the majority of those opportunities, but the Jaguars failed to capitalize each time.

After a scoreless opening 40 minutes, Oakton began sending more attackers forward in the second half. Delgado showed great patience when he maneuvered around a defender at the top of the box to get open for a left footed strike that gave Oakton a 1-0 lead. The captain had nearly gotten on the board twice before that. In the ninth minute he put a half volley just over the crossbar, and in the 24^th minute he found himself open but sent a weak shot right to the keeper.

Iporre’s first chance came in the 10^th minute when his shot was deflected by Oakton keeper Logan Cropper. Later in the first half, he nearly had a breakaway but lost control of the ball when he hit a dirt patch created by lacrosse games.

“[It was] just a bad touch here and there in front of the goal,” Falls Church head coach Lucas Cook said. “They made a great change in the second half when they went to a 4-3-3 and started putting guys forward. We haven’t seen a lot of that this season, so the pressure at the beginning took us a while to adjust to.”

Oakton coach Todd Spitalny called upon a pair of JV players to fire up his lackluster squad. Sepehr Zomorodi and NaJee Cox both entered the game early, and took advantage of the opportunity to prove their worth. Zomorodi won possession of the ball less than a minute after coming in and displayed his speed in setting up runs down the sideline. Cox was fearless around the goalmouth and beat two defenders before setting up Delgado for a shot that was saved. Less than two minutes before Delgado’s second goal, Cox had a chance to put things out of reach but sent a shot just wide.

“We had other guys that we could have put in,” Spitalny said of the call-ups. “Those guys are high energy level guys, so we put them out there and it picked up everyone else and we were able to get it done.”

While the Jaguars’ season came to an end with the loss, the foundation they’ve built is impressive. After a 2-11 record in his first year, Cook led the team to seven wins in 2011 and an appearance in regionals for the first time since 2006.

Oakton, meanwhile, is enjoying a turnaround of its own. Just three years removed from a one win season, the Cougars went 11-3-1 in 2011 and cruised through the Concorde District tournament with 3-0 wins over Robinson and Herndon. Oakton will meet Lake Braddock in the second round of regionals. The Cougars prevailed 2-0 when the teams met on May 5.