This time last year, the Bow boys soccer team had locked up a top-four seed in the Class I tournament – par for the course for George Pinkham’s squad.

Peter Bisson, on the other hand, was completing his first season at the Pembroke Academy helm. His team had shown signs of progress, but were out of playoff contention nonetheless.

This year, things are a little different. Though the Falcons are in the playoffs again, it’s they who are playing the unfamiliar role of underdog while Bisson’s boys continue to crash the Class I party. In fact, Bow was the first on what’s become a long list of foes to suffer a surprise setback at the hands of the upstart Spartans.

On Aug. 29, PA traveled to Bow to open the season and defeated the defending state runners-up, 2-1.

This time around, the Falcons had a better idea what to expect, yet the result was no different.

Behind three goals from striker Ryan Clark and another from Caleb Bonanno, the Spartans won again on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 4-0, and improved to 9-3-2, good enough for fourth place.

Bow, now 7-7-1 on the season, was 6-2-1 in nine prior contests and hadn’t given up more than two goals in a game since Sept. 6.

Yet Bisson said he had a feeling his players were due for a big performance. Scoring the first goal against Bow’s staunch defense, he said, gave them all the confidence they needed.

“The energy was there. I don’t know if it’s because it was our last home game or what, but if we can maintain that energy and finish teams off, we’ve got a real shot,” said Bisson. “I’ve got a lot of talent, and the right players are in the right spots. I’m willing to put it all in their hands.”

Despite the 2-0 record against the Falcons during the regular season, Bisson said that doesn’t mean he’d like to see them again in the playoffs.

“They’re dangerous,” he said. “They defend well and they can get forward very quickly. They’re right in there with a lot of good teams that can easily beat you on any given day.”

Pinkham said he’s happy just to be in the playoffs. In fact, he said he hasn’t looked at the standings since mid-September.

“We’ve struggled all year offensively. We know that, and we know we need to hold teams down with our defense,” said Pinkham. “I give this Pembroke team credit. The chances they had they finished. They look very strong.”