Jaffe's 5 bends season direction

"It was classic."

When Adam Jaffe made that statement Tuesday night, he was talking about how his goal in the final minute of the evening's game had given South Whidbey a victory over the ever-tough Lynden Christian Lyncs. As it turned out, his words described his whole week on the soccer field.

Jaffe, a senior striker for the Falcons chalked up five goals this week to give South Whidbey the points they needed to win two games crucial to their future as a playoff team this season.

Jaffe's last minute score -- which he brought into the Lync net from 30 yards on a Scott Perkins assist -- and his goal on a penalty kick in the first half of the game were just what South Whidbey needed in the 2-1 win. Two nights later in Granite Falls, Jaffe slammed in two goals in the first half and a third on a fluky shot in the second to lead his team to a 4-0 win over the Tigers.

Now 6-5, South Whidbey is one of the top four teams in the North Cascade Conference after knocking off the Lyncs, which came into Tuesday's game in third place behind 10-0 Sultan.

In the game at Waterman Field, it was hard to believe the Lyncs were the better team in the standings. For more than two-thirds of the game, the Falcons had complete control of the action, putting heavy pressure on Lynden Christian's defense. While the effort did not yield up much in the way of shots on goal or scoring, it unnerved the Lyncs to the point of vulnerability.

The Falcons earned their penalty kick when a Lync defender blocked a shot with his hand as South Whidbey's strikers applied heavy pressure in the 25th minute. Though the Lyncs got the goal back in the 45th minute with their own successful penalty shot against South Whidbey goalkeeper Joe Gunn, they did not get to go to overtime thanks to Jaffe's winning goal.

At Granite Falls Thursday, the game was not nearly as close. In addition to the hat trick -- which was engineered in part by senior Jasper Hein, who assisted Jaffe on two of his goals -- Louis Garcia, a Spanish exchange student playing for the Falcons this year, got his first goal of the season midway through the second half on a Perkins crossing pass.

Jaffe scored the team's final goal when he intercepted an attempted kick by the Tigers' goalkeeper three yards out.

According to coach Fran Einterz, senior goalkeepers Joe Gunn and LJ Godsey shared the credit for the shutout in Thursday's game. Also picking up a save on the day was Conner Adams, who put himself between the ball and the net after Godsey got taken out on an aggressive Tiger play in the 80th minute.

The Falcons will play Saturday at 2 p.m. against Blaine. Due to a track meet scheduled for the same day, the game will take place at South Whidbey Community Park.

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