The Falcons (15-4-1) advance to the state quarterfinals where they will host Mill Creek, while the Blue Devils (16-2-1) saw their season come to an end.
Brian Grande scored the first goal for Pebblebrook off an assist from Angel Cruz in the 12th minute as Cruz fed the ball into the box for Grande who made a touch kick past goalkeeper Hugo Hernandez into the lower right corner to set off the Falcons' celebration.
It was an evenly played first half as Norcross attempted seven shots and Pebblebrook had eight. The Falcons were more precise with their opportunities, however, as Hernandez totaled four saves compared to one for Pebblebrook's Alexis Vasquez. Vasquez collected his lone first half save when he stopped the ball from crossing the goal line after it deflected off the right pipe following a shot from Jessi Suarez.
"We knew Norcross was a good team that was going to bring a lot of energy," Pebblebrook coach Anton Banfield said. "We knew we had to bring it right back at them and try to catch them flat-footed and it worked in our favor early on."
Pebblebrook's aggressive play spilled over into the second half with the Falcons netting their second goal in the 42nd minute as David Hernandez passed the ball into the center box for Daniel Motino who also scored into the lower right corner of the net.
"It felt good to go up in the first and then get that extra point cushion in the second half," Banfield said. "We knew we couldn't relax though."
Norcross and Pebblebrook each totaled 10 second half shots, but the Blue Devils outshot the Falcons 6-2 in the final 10 minutes. A skirmish broke out and injuries piled up within the final seven minutes of the game. The official distributed two yellow cards and two red cards as well during that span as each team played with nine field players and one goalie for the remainder of the match.
Wednesday's outcome was very different than Pebblebrook's first round match, which saw the Falcons trailing in the seco... Click here to read full article
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