CADE — St. Thomas Aquinas head soccer coach John Cox noticed something when he scouted ESA’s second round playoff game against Parkview Baptist.

The Falcons coach saw that ESA was susceptible to long passes down the wings even though Parkview didn’t take advantage of it during ESA’s 2-0 win over the Eagles.

He also noted that he was definitely going to attack ESA down the wings when the two teams met Monday in the quarterfinals.

The result was two first-half goals about two minutes apart to give the visiting Falcons a 2-0 lead as St. Thomas Aquinas beat ESA 3-0 to advance to the Division III semifinals.

“I went scout them against Parkview and it was a tremendous win for ESA,” said Cox, whose team plays Country Day, a 3-0 winner over Lusher, in the semifinals. 

“Parkview never exploited ESA’s defense out wide, and that was our game plan.”

Despite ESA’s defensive pressure, which Cox admitted made the game difficult for visiting Falcons, St. Thomas Aquinas was able to convert two free kicks, one from Camp Sledge in the 28th minute and one from Reece Durham in the 30th minute, to take a 2-0 lead at halftime.

STA took advantage of a consistent 20 mph wind in the first half and was able to hold off ESA when the visitors were playing with the wind in their face in the second half

“They made it very difficult for us with their defending,” said Cox. “We were finally able to break them down and they way we play, we keep the ball on the ground all the time so that the wind really didn’t affect us.”

Blake Cordoba added the third goal for STA in the 59th minute, sealing the win for the Falcons.

“We have a young team and our inexperience showed tonight,” said ESA coach Daniel Underwood, whose 13th seeded team was the lowest remaining seed left in the Division III tournament. “However, they left it all out on the field. I told them to keep their heads up.

“We gave up two goals off free kicks and we were against the wind. I knew that if we cold get to halftime we’d get the wind at our backs. They were just too tough to come back against.”

Despite the loss, Underwood has great hopes for his team as they return everyone except for one senior.

“We’re real junior-laden and real freshman-heavy,” said Underwood. “The playoffs were a great experience for us. The future is bright here in Cade. We’re anticipating a fun year next year.”э