By Gene Helfman

Special to the Weekly

Two evenly matched teams met on the Lopez soccer pitch Oct. 10 in what was guaranteed to be a close, hard-fought contest. Lopez and Grace Academy both were 3-6 on the season, both were co-ed teams, and both dearly wanted another league victory. Their previous meeting ended with Lopez winning 2-1.

The game did not disappoint. Lopez, moving with a strong westerly win, scored quickly in the seventh minute as Italian exchange student Davide Ancillotti put the ball in the Eagle’s net with a nice finish from the left side. The first half ended Lopez 1, Grace 0. Grace had the downwind advantage in the second half and scored quickly. The teams played evenly at 1-1 with many shots-on-goal and numerous saves by Lopez keeper Reese Hamilton as well as by the Grace goalie. A tie seemed unavoidable until Ancillotti broke free on the right side and scored his second goal with eleven minutes left to play. Lopez went into defensive mode and held, the game ending Lopez 2, Grace Academy 1.

Lopez has two remaining home games, Oct. 20 against Cedar Park and Oct. 24 against Friday Harbor.