QUINCY — Under the bright lights of Quincy Jackrabbit Stadium on Friday, the home team faced a one-goal deficit against No. 14 seed Seattle Academy Cardinals in the 1A state soccer playoffs.

With three shots on the goal in the final minutes proving unsuccessful, the Jackrabbits were eliminated by a score of 3-2 in the round of 16 of the state finals.

“It’s just not our day,” Quincy Head Coach Francisco Tafoya said.

The Cardinals struck first, after a shot on goal fell out of the grasp of Quincy goalkeeper Romualdo Sandoval’s hands and Seattle’s Kenzo Schiffer rushed up to the net and chipped in a goal in the 11th minute. The Jacks quickly responded, with junior Alejandro Mendoza scoring a tying goal just three minutes later.

“We came into the game just trying to do what we usually do,” Tafoya said. “Just build up slowly and hit the backside.”

The Jacks came out hot in the first half, scoring their second goal in the 17th minute to take a 2-1 lead. Junior midfielder Isaac Lopez sprinted upfield, beating his defender and hitting his shot in the net.

Seattle’s Ameyan Dash tied up the match before the half on a shot to the left of Sandoval in the 30th minute.

“[I told them] ‘Just settle down,’” Tafoya said he told his team during halftime. “To start to find the ball at our feet and start connecting passes the way we know how.”

Coming out of halftime, the Cardinals were significantly more effective in pressuring the Jacks. Seattle stepped up its game defensively, limiting the number of shots that Quincy was able to take in the second half.

“The Seattle Academy team just came out really hard and pressuring really high and hard, so it just made it difficult,” Tafoya said.

Angel Arroyo gave Seattle a 3-2 lead just six minutes into the second half. The Cardinals never looked back, shutting down the Quincy offense in the second half. In the few remaining minutes, the Jacks had some success moving the ball downfield, but were unable to convert any of their shots into a game-tying goal.

“Just what anybody would want, just that last-second goal to drop,” Tafoya said about what was going through his mind during the last few minutes. “It just felt like every other opportunity was going wasted – it was not going to happen.”

The Jackrabbits finished the season 13-5-1. This was the first season that Quincy had made it to state since 2014, a season where they defeated University Prep to win the 1A state title.

“Even though they gave it their all, I think we all expected just a little more this season,” Tafoya said.

Despite the sour ending, Tafoya is still proud of his team for making it to the state tournament and the way the Jacks played throughout the season.

“[It’s been] phenomenal,” Tafoya said of the season as a whole. “This is a great group of kids that we have. Just the play that they’ve had this year … It’s been a fun year, and I appreciate the hard work from these boys.”

Ian Bivona may be reached at [email protected].