The Staley Boys Mustangs 7th and 8th grade boys made it to the District Tournament this past weekend with both boys teams playing at the same time.  I went to watch and photograph the 8th grade boys game on Friday night.  The 8th graders had to take on the Hunt Huskies, the number one seed in the district.  However, for the majority of the game, the Mustangs dominated.  The Mustangs controlled the ball had great passing.  They defense played tough and trapped the Huskies several times.  The boys played tough and had several shots on goal, with the Huskies goalie making some great saves.   On the other side of the field,  Mustang keeper, Draven did a fantastic job.  The crowd saw the Huskies score first, but the Mustangs came right back a minute and fifteen second later, when Austin took a pass from Trent and booted into the back of the net.  Tie score with seven and half minutes left in the half.  The Mustangs continued to play great and the score remained tied at one at the break.  The second half had the Mustangs battling not only the Huskies but also the wind.  The Mustangs and Huskies battled it out for most of the second half.  The Huskies scored again, when the wind carried the ball over the Staley keeper's outstretched arms as he came out on the attack.  The Mustangs continued to play aggressively and fought hard.  The  boys had several shots almost going in for the score, but it was not meant to be, the wind and luck were not on the Mustangs' side.  Despite some really great saves and plays by the defense, the Huskies scored one last time to take a 3-1 win.  The Mustangs ended their Staley careers playing with great determination, intensity and passion.  

The Staley Mustangs 7th Grade boys also played Friday night, taking a 3-1 win over Roach, giving them the opportunity to play on Saturday.  The Mustangs took on the Pioneer Panthers in the first game.  The Staley boys played awesome.  The Mustangs and the Panthers were pretty evenly matched as they battled to a 0-0 tie at the half.  The Mustangs came out aggressively in the second half, putting pressure on the Pioneer defense.  Staley's keeper, Jake made some outstanding saves along the way to keep the Panthers scoreless.  Both teams saw a defensive struggle with each team collecting a few shots on goal, but denied by the opposing goalie.  The game remained scoreless and went to penalty kicks.  Despite a valiant effort, the Mustangs lost to the Panthers 4-1 on penalty kicks, sending them to the bronze medal game, as opposed to the championship game.  The Pioneer Panthers eventually won the District Tournament, but the Mustangs certainly played them tough and did not make it an easy road.

The Mustangs played the Hunt Huskies in the bronze medal game.  The Huskies took and early 3-0 lead.  The Mustangs came back in the second half and scored quickly, closing the gap 3-1. The Mustangs  played with fight and intensity the entire match, keeping the Huskies in check until just after the half way mark of the second half, as the Huskies sailed one into the net.  The Mustangs played steady, but the offense could not get one past the keeper.   The Huskies put another on the scoreboard with six and half minutes left.  The Mustangs continued to fight and finally put one in the net with three minutes left in the game.  The game finished with the score in favor of the Huskies: 5-2.  The Mustangs gave a lot of effort, playing tough.  They had a great season finishing fourth in the District.   Great job, Mustangs!!  

Not to be left out, the Staley Lady Mustangs 8th Graders played in the District Tournament also.  They played strong Friday night, but Stafford came out on top 1-0.  I missed seeing the girls play this season, I wished I could have made a game.  Great job ladies!!  Way to go Staley!!

Here are some images of the games.

8th Grade game vs. Hunt.

7th Grade Game vs. Pioneer

7th Grade Game vs. Hunt