Forest, a junior, described the game’s lone goal.
“We settled the ball in the midfield and then we played it out wide. Sal Bavido made a cross to me and I just finished it. Sal did a good job getting it to my feet and I was able to one time it,” Forest said.
  
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Forest credited the Bulldogs’ defense with stepping up.
“I give them all the credit. It was a really close match. Both teams were in it. This is a big time victory for us. I love it,” Forest added.
FHS senior goalkeeper Matt Harris came up big in key spots and was named the Bulldogs’ top defender by coach Budd Ditchendorf.
“His hands were solid. They didn’t have a whole lot of shots, but what came his way was tough. The entire defense played well.”
Harris gave credit to his defenders.
“They played rock solid. We wouldn’t be anywhere without our defense. We figure if you have no goals against, you can’t lose. It was awesome to see everyone do their job,” Harris said.
Harris added late in the match they had six or seven guys back along the defensive line kicking the ball out.
Both teams seemed to have trouble passing to feet in the first half. Neither team was able to control the ball in an attempt to move up field. St. Paul’s did earn a couple corner kicks during the first 14 minutes of play. During those first few minutes, SPS appeared to be the aggressor, but couldn’t put any shots away.
FHS’ Ditchendorf said it was a hard-fought victory and described Forest’s goal as a game breaker.
“When you out heart St. Paul’s even though it’s only by one goal, it is a big deal. They (St. Paul’s) have a lot of spirit and pride. This is a wonderful place to play (Hunter Stadium) with a beautiful field and knowledgeable fans,” Ditchendorf said.
“This is our top match of the season. I think this will be one of the top ones in more than a year in that regard. We won the match, but I think we can play smarter.”
Ditchendorf was referring to his club’s first half performance.
“We tried to play racehorse in the first half. Thank God we put together a few plays in the second half,” Ditchendorf added.
St. Paul’s coach Trevor Watkins said both teams were very tentative in the first half and not themselves.
“There was a lot of wild stuff that made no sense. We didn’t have a good first half. Fontainebleau did an outstanding job in the second half and did what they needed to do to beat us,” Watkins said.
St. Paul’s fought hard firing off a number of shots on goal during the final five minutes.
Some shots were from close range, but if it wasn’t Harris gobbling them up, it was a Bulldogs’ defender in position to boot the ball away, forcing St. Paul’s to regroup further away from the goal.
Watkins said his club had good scoring opportunities.
“We were just a step short of a number of possible goals. It’s too bad. We had a lot of nice chances, but none of them went in,” Watkins added.
The Wolves’ Adrian McInnis, Wes Lee and Scott Mayer managed to keep the ball alive late in the match, firing off shots being turned away by the Bulldogs’ defense unwilling to yield a goal.
St. Paul’s got off a barrage of shots during the final few minutes. In the 72nd minute, Lee rattled off a shot from 25 yards out that faded wide right. Two minutes later, McInnis blasted a laser from the left wing about 20 yards out that appeared headed for a goal, but was deflected off Brad Montreuil’s shoulder redirecting the ball.
In the 77th minute, FHS’ Dolapo Ogunniyi beat the SPS defense in the middle. He dribbled on goal with Bowers racing out to deflect the ball away in a one-on-one situation.
During the final seconds, SPS dug deep and generated one final run. McInnis made a pass to Mayer on the left wing, who crossed the ball trying to hit Blake Sellers, who was coming from the backside, but the ball was just off the mark.
St. Paul’s named Joey Mingo its top defender.
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