Trailing 2-1 in the final minutes of their soccer match with St. Mary’s, the Fountain Valley Danes needed some late magic. They thought they found it off a corner kick when the ball appeared to get into the net.

The host Danes (7-4-1 overall, 3-1 3A Region 1) celebrated. But it turned out to be premature as the referee waved no goal and the Pirates (4-7-1, 4-0) hung on for a 2-1 win Tuesday afternoon.

“If all of my guys are telling me the ball is 3 feet in, it had to have been in,” Danes coach Byron Dacy said. “They said it hit the net, but it’s out of our hands now. We have to hit the back of the net and make it definitive.”

The Pirates’ win came off a see-saw game that began with a strike by sophomore Diego Zapata who took aim at the net from the far side of the field. The ball went over the head of Danes’ keeper Alex Carter, striking the post and bouncing into the net to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead eight minutes into the game.

The lead wouldn’t last long. Shale Hunter responded for the Danes on a clear shot at the net. What seemed like a promising lead for the Pirates had suddenly been erased.

“We struggled (finding the net) early in the season,” Pirates coach Robert Kennedy said. “We came back against CSCS and this one we did the other way where we had the lead, tried to protect it and lost it.”

The Pirates nearly lost the tie as well when a well-placed shot nearly got over the head of their keeper, Adam Bull. He was able to get his hand up and redirect the shot just enough that it hit the crossbar, keeping the game tied.

“They challenged Adam early,” Kennedy said. “The team definitely trusts Adam in goal and they know that he’s going to make big plays.”

During a hotly contested battle in the second half, the Pirates finally took the lead in the 69th minute. Players on both teams were battling for position in the Fountain Valley box when it looked like Zapata had another shot to put the ball in the net, but Carter was able to momentarily corral it. He couldn’t hang on to the ball, however, and it squirted free, allowing Josh Fowler to take a shot.

With Carter out of position due the initial shot, the ball was able to get by him and put the Pirates ahead for good.

“It was kind of a controversial thing; the keeper was kind of fumbling it,” Fowler said. “It just popped out and I took the shot and scored, so I was happy.”

After starting the season 1-7, the Pirates are riding a five-game unbeaten streak. They sit at the top of their league and will clinch if they beat Lamar in their upcoming game Saturday.

St. Mary’s goalkeeper Adam Bull takes about a key save during Tuesday’s victory over Fountain Valley. Image from a video by Dan Mohrmann.