TUSCHEN PK GIVES BOBCATS UPSET WIN OVER JAMES VALLEY
When Parker junior Emma Tuschen woke up Tuesday morning, Sept. 16, one of the first thoughts that popped into her head was, “man, I really want to beat James Valley.”
Less than 12 hours later, she and the soccer team from Freeman Academy on which she plays did just that — thanks to her.
Tuschen scored on a penalty kick in the 78th minute of what was a thrilling match between two of the top teams in Class A, breaking a 1-1 tie that sent the team on which she has played since she was an eighth grader into frenzy. The Bobcats defense held the Vikings in check in the final 1:44 of play, and the upset on Freeman Academy’s home field was complete.
The Bobcats got the win without their leading scorer, Lesther Rocha, who was out sick.
“This means everything,” said Tuschen, whose penalty shot came after a handball was called in the box James Valley was protecting, and found the lower right corner of the net for the go-ahead score. “I’m just really glad the team was able to pull through.”
The Bobcats took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Elmer Rodolfo and assisted by Justin Escobar early in the match and held it until James Valley scored on a shot that found the corner of the net after Freeman Academy was whistled for a foul deep in its own territory, tying the game in the 59th minute. Both offenses traded scoring threats in the final 20 minute of the game before Tuschen capitalized on her opportunity to win the game.
“We’ve talked about how you have to believe you can win, and then make it happen,” head coach Nathan Epp told his team after the match. “The last 15 minutes you were the more aggressive team, we played a lot cleaner, and you outplayed the No. 1 team in the state. This is a huge monkey off our back. Now you have no excuse for not believing the rest of the year.
“What you did today had very little to do with the coaches,” Epp continued. “You went out and won that game. I am so proud of you.”
The win moves Freeman Academy to 9-1-1. James Valley Christian falls to 7-1.
