Boys Soccer: Cougars Fall in District Semifinals

Looking to capture its second straight district title, the Oakton High boys soccer team fell short with a 4-1 loss to Herndon in the Concorde District Tournaments semifinals. 

Coach Todd Spitalny said he knew heading into the postseason Herndon would be the toughest team the Cougars had to face. 

"If we had been on the other side of the bracket facing Robinson, I think we would've been in the finals," Spitalny said. "Tonight we didn't finish our early chances and they came back and finished them. ... They physically outworked us. They put out a workman's-like job today."

The Cougars missed two early scoring opportunities, kicking the shots straight to the keeper. From there, the Hornets dictated the style of play, allowing them to jump ahead 3-0 in the first half.

"They were able to go a little more direct and we don't want to be direct. We wanted to be able to control the game," Spitalny said. "We bypassed our middle all night long."

The Cougars did not score until 15 minutes into the second half on a penalty kick from Ahmed Ismail, four minutes after the Hornets added their fourth and final goal also on a penalty kick. 

Despite the loss, the Cougars' postseason continues with their automatic berth into the Northern Region Tournament.

"I don't want to demean what we did last year, but our goals are bigger than the district title," Spitalny said. "This game doesn't define our season. Sure, we wanted to defend our title, but ultimately we have bigger goals."