QUINCY — The Jacks boys soccer team (11-8-1) was defeated Saturday by the Grandview Greyhounds (10-5-1) 2-0. Despite the tough loss, head coach Hector Vaca feels that everything they want is still in front of them.  

“At that point, we didn't know who we were going to play, and we were just trying to get them to just stay focused, and we could still make state. I mean, it was a very real possibility of us getting to state,” Vaca said.  

Vaca said his team excelled in controlling the pace of the game and maintaining possession by exploiting space on the field. However, the Jacks were just unable to find their way into the net. The Greyhounds capitalized on a penalty kick and another score that ultimately resulted in the final score.  

“I feel like we played really well as a team and individually, we had some very unfortunate calls that maybe swung it left or right, but at the end of the day, I mean, that should have been on us. We shouldn't have let the refs dictate what happened in the game,” Vaca said. 

Despite the outcome, Vaca remained encouraging to his players and pushed them to see that their goals were still in front of them. Quickly, they switched their focus to their next game against the Ellensburg Bulldogs (8-10-1).  

Morale among the Jacks is high as they prepare for the Bulldogs. They played each other earlier in the regular season, with the Jacks coming out on top with a 2-0 victory. Vaca noted they were down four key players in that matchup, which they will have this time around.  

Their matchup against Ellensburg will be for the third-place spot in districts and the winner will go on to play in a crossover matchup with the district champion of the Greater Spokane League.  

“The goal is to go to state, but I think there's always that feeling in the back of the mind of these guys that they always have something to prove, especially with how our season has been going in a new league,” Vaca said, “I mean, they're fighters, and they're going to fight to the very end, so regardless of the outcome, regardless of anything, their mentality is always win, win, win. So that's just something that I admire a lot about them.”  

The results of Quincy versus Ellensburg played Tuesday evening were not available at press time.  

    Daniel Mendoza controlling possession in a previous match against East Valley. Mendoza is a senior forward for the Jacks.
  

    Daniel Mendoza stealing a possession once again against East Valley. Mendoza and the Jacks looked to carry their strong defensive presence into their match against Ellensburg Tuesday. Results of the match weren’t available by press time, but will be published in an upcoming edition.