ROANOKE (WSLS 10 SPORTS) -
Patrick Henry was looking to continue its historic run for a state championship on Tuesday night. They hosted the Falcons of Briar Woods. The Patriots came out flat as the Falcons soared to a commanding 3-0 lead in the first quarter, which included a goal from Kyle Duffie.
Patrick Henry trailed by as many as four goals but rallied behind Kyle Mollica. The Junior scored early in the 3rd quarter-- scoring two goals in a twenty second span. That cut the Briar Woods lead to 7-5. Mollica was just getting started.
In the 4th quarter Mollica tied the game at seven, scoring his 5th goal of the night but it wasn't enough as Briar Woods gets the 9-7 win, advancing to the state championship.
Despite a tough loss Coach Wilkinson and his players say it was an excellent season.
"Most teams we played this year have all been very old and we're still young so next year we'll still be extremely strong", said Junior Brice Johnson.
"I'll give them credit though they started off the game fast usually what we do is really get off and get going real quick we just weren't there in the first quarter really", said Coach Josh Wilkinson.
The Patriots hope to use the last two final four appearances as a teaching tool in the future as they look for their first state championship.