In the last game St. Albans would play on one of the longest-used grass fields in the area, in the last home game for Bulldogs seniors whose IAC tournament seed was set, and for whom a senior day loss to unbeaten No. 1 Georgetown Prep was thought to be a foregone conclusion, the St. Albans Bulldogs channeled emotion into a stunning 8-7 overtime victory.
With their field set to go under construction Wednesday and the annual emotions of senior day pumping, the Bulldogs staged a spectacular comeback, rallying from four goals down in the second half to end the Little Hoyas’ bid for an undefeated regular season at the last possible moment with just their fifth win of the 2014 season.
“We knew that our IAC tournament seed was locked up, so this game didn’t mean a ton,” St. Albans Coach Robby Walsh said in a telephone interview. “So we said, let’s just go out there and play for ground balls, play for a ride or a clear. When you do that, the moments add up to a game, and today, our guys took advantage of all of those moments.”
With what Walsh described as a “one-clear at a time,” “one goal at a time,” approach, the Bulldogs (5-10) came back to tie the Little Hoyas (17-1) late, and Armin Mortazavi poured in the overtime winner to clinch the upset.
“They’ve been working hard all year, and you keep trying to tell them there will be a payoff, “ Walsh said. “There isn’t always, but today they finally had that moment.”