Against great odds and against a great team in Gaither, the Sickles High boys soccer team pulled off the unexpected in Friday night's Class 5A-District 9 final, winning 3-1.
The odds were stacked against the Gryphons from the beginning of the year as they returned only one starter, midfielder and captain Carlos Rodriguez. The odds grew longer after Rodriguez received a red card at last week's Wharton Invitational and was suspended for the remainder of the year.
So on Friday, a year after winning the district title for the first time (also against Gaither), Sickles trotted onto the field with 11 new starters at King High and beat the Cowboys again.
"We gave it absolutely everything we had," Sickles coach Tony Calvo said. "We showed a lot of character."
In the first half, Gaither (15-4-3) took a 1-0 lead on a Jordan See breakaway.
Sickles (17-6-3) bounced back in the 45th minute when Dillon Kane chipped in a header off a long throw-in. Three minutes later, Gavin O'Malley added a shocker when he turned on a throw-in and lofted a 25-yarder into the top right corner of the net.
O'Malley sealed the game with 9 minutes remaining after Gaither peppered the Sickles goal, only to have the ball sent deep down field.
O'Malley collected it just outside the box, slipped by one defender and smoked a shot into the net's left side.
"We know what we need to fix," Gaither coach Eric Sims said. "I know we can do it."
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