All the ecstasy of a Falcon goal in the 72nd minute vanished three minutes later.

The Overlake Owls scored the tying goal on a place kick after a bizarre call by the referees at Thursday’s boys soccer match, a 1-1 draw.

One of the Owl forwards sprinted after a through ball. But Falcon goalie Andrew Holt challenged him, snagged the ball first and sent Owl sophomore Cole Kenworthy tumbling over him. Holt reset the ball, tossing it to his left defensive back.

Referees stopped play, however, to tend to Kenworthy who laid on the soggy grass. Kenworthy did not come out of the game, and the refs gave the ball to Overlake about 30 yards out.

That set up a goal for Owl junior Eli Waalkes, which tied the match, 1-1.

“That is a very well-coached team,” said Falcon head coach Joel Gerlach.

“Other than that questionable call at the end, we would have won.”

South Whidbey’s goal came on a furious push by its offense. The Falcons relied on their speed up front to beat the Owls’ defense. And it worked a few times, though only once for a score.

Sam Turpin, a Falcon senior forward, sprinted past his defender and dribbled toward the Owls’ goal. Once Overlake’s goalie Patrick Rector made his move, Turpin booted in the ball for a 1-0 lead.

“We figured we had speed, which was something we had last year,” Turpin said. “We just reverted to our bad offense.”

“A goal is a goal. We’ll take goals whenever we can.”

The play resulted in Rector leaving the game with a knee injury. Playing South Whidbey (1-0 Cascade Conference; 1-2-0 overall) was injurious to Rector earlier in the match, as he saved a shot on goal by senior Stephen Lyons by taking the ball to his face.

Gerlach changed strategies after a scoreless first half.

Waterman’s Field at South Whidbey High School was true to its name. The grass was soaked, especially in the middle. Gerlach had his team focus on playing the ball outside rather than through the middle of the field.

“Our style of play didn’t accommodate the condition of the field,” Gerlach said. “We’re just getting used to the pitch.”