The Jackrabbits traveled to Wylie Stadium to face Dallas Molina on neutral ground Friday night. For the second straight week, Forney faced a team many felt were favored on paper. But as the old cliché goes, that’s why you play the games. Forney crushed Molina by a final score of 4-1 and advanced to the UIL Class 4A Region II Regional Quarterfinals to be played earliy next week.
{loadposition adinsert}
Forney will play Frisco Liberty after their 2-1 defeat of Frisco Heritage last night. That game will be played on Monday or Tuesday of next week at a mutual site determined by the coaches -- stay tuned to inForney.com for the scheduling announcement.
Coach Kris Duplissey and his Jackrabbits made an early goal stand up last week against Hillcrest. If not for a couple of outstanding saves by Jackrabbit keeper Tristen Putnam, it might have been the same scenario in reverse. The very early action saw Molina test Putnam twice after getting around the right side of the Forney defense and into the goal box.
The saves by Putnam grew in significance as Forney turned the tables and scored two early goals of their own, courtesy of Fred Kirunda. Kirunda’s first goal came on a long ball that bounced just outside the goal box. The Molina keeper came off his line, but misjudged the speed of Kirunda who was able to get to the ball first and simply lift the ball over the oncoming keeper and into the back of the net. This strike came just 5 minutes into the game.
Less than 8 minutes later, Dominic Faletto got loose deep in Molina territory as a result of great footwork. Faletto was one-on-one with the keeper after he broke free but had a defender closing fast. Faletto deftly laid the ball off to his right for a supporting Kirunda to one time into the back of the net from 12 yards resulting in a two goal lead before the 30 minute mark for Forney.
Molina cut the Jackrabbit lead in half with an expert strike from the left side that sailed over Putnam and buried itself in the netting of the opposite corner. The long strike was a foreshadowing of the majority of offensive challenges from Molina. Putnam was up to the test the remainder of the night as he kept Molina out of the net for the remainder of the match.
Forney made it 3-1 in the second half on Dominic Faletto’s direct kick from just outside the penalty box after a mental mistake by the Jaguar goalkeeper. The keeper left his line to handle a long service by Forney, but he was just outside the penalty box when he grabbed the ball with both hands. Despite his attempts to persuade the assistant referee he was inside the box, the flag remained up and a direct kick was awarded to Forney. Faletto tested the right side of the defensive wall and snuck the ball through two defenders who turned sideways as the ball left Faletto’s foot. Being that the Molina keeper had to count on his wall to cover that side of the action, he was not able to get over far enough to deflect the well placed shot.
Forney later added a fourth goal when Tony Cadena cleaned up a nice cross that missed its first target but managed to get all the way across the penalty area without being cleared. Cadena redirected the ball to the back of the net and past a clearly frustrated Molina keeper.
Molina’s offense had several chances to cut the deficit at various points of the match. Either Putnam’s saves or long distance clearing by the Jackrabbit Defense kept Molina at bay the rest of the match. With a one goal lead in the second half, Forney was not exactly in a keep away mode. Forney was willing to concede the middle of the field to Molina, but Molina could not take advantage and was kept off the board by a withering defense that was willing to close down the “open” space inside the 25 yard line.
Coach Kris Duplissey and his Jackrabbits made an early goal stand up last week against Hillcrest. If not for a couple of outstanding saves by Jackrabbit keeper Tristen Putnam, it might have been the same scenario in reverse. The very early action saw Molina test Putnam twice after getting around the right side of the Forney defense and into the goal box.
The saves by Putnam grew in significance as Forney turned the tables and scored two early goals of their own, courtesy of Fred Kirunda. Kirunda’s first goal came on a long ball that bounced just outside the goal box. The Molina keeper came off his line, but misjudged the speed of Kirunda who was able to get to the ball first and simply lift the ball over the oncoming keeper and into the back of the net. This strike came just 5 minutes into the game.
Less than 8 minutes later, Dominic Faletto got loose deep in Molina territory as a result of great footwork. Faletto was one-on-one with the keeper after he broke free but had a defender closing fast. Faletto deftly laid the ball off to his right for a supporting Kirunda to one time into the back of the net from 12 yards resulting in a two goal lead before the 30 minute mark for Forney.
Molina cut the Jackrabbit lead in half with an expert strike from the left side that sailed over Putnam and buried itself in the netting of the opposite corner. The long strike was a foreshadowing of the majority of offensive challenges from Molina. Putnam was up to the test the remainder of the night as he kept Molina out of the net for the remainder of the match.
Forney made it 3-1 in the second half on Dominic Faletto’s direct kick from just outside the penalty box after a mental mistake by the Jaguar goalkeeper. The keeper left his line to handle a long service by Forney, but he was just outside the penalty box when he grabbed the ball with both hands. Despite his attempts to persuade the assistant referee he was inside the box, the flag remained up and a direct kick was awarded to Forney. Faletto tested the right side of the defensive wall and snuck the ball through two defenders who turned sideways as the ball left Faletto’s foot. Being that the Molina keeper had to count on his wall to cover that side of the action, he was not able to get over far enough to deflect the well placed shot.
Forney later added a fourth goal when Tony Cadena cleaned up a nice cross that missed its first target but managed to get all the way across the penalty area without being cleared. Cadena redirected the ball to the back of the net and past a clearly frustrated Molina keeper.
Molina’s offense had several chances to cut the deficit at various points of the match. Either Putnam’s saves or long distance clearing by the Jackrabbit Defense kept Molina at bay the rest of the match. With a one goal lead in the second half, Forney was not exactly in a keep away mode. Forney was willing to concede the middle of the field to Molina, but Molina could not take advantage and was kept off the board by a withering defense that was willing to close down the “open” space inside the 25 yard line.