The final score of Saturday’s boys soccer game between Vicksburg High and Forest was sort of like a magic trick. It was, all at once, closer than it appeared and the blowout it actually was.

Vicksburg used two well-placed shots and a superb defensive effort to hang with Forest for nearly 70 minutes. Then a late defensive meltdown allowed the Bearcats to score four goals in the last 12 minutes and walk out of Memorial Stadium with a 7-2 victory.

“The first half was excellent. The first half was awesome. But it was like our head just got completely out of the game,” VHS assistant coach Kristin Williams said.

Vicksburg (1-4-1) has struggled this season, but turned in a surprisingly strong effort against a good Forest (11-3) team that reached the 2014 Class 1A-2A-3A championship game and seems on track for another deep postseason run this year.

Michael James scooted a 25-yard ground ball past goal keeper Edwin Gonzalez five minutes into the game to give the Gators an early lead, and Rashad Fisher sailed a 30-yard shot from the right wing over Gonzalez’s outstretched arms to tie it at 2 in the 34th minute.

It was the first goal of the season for Fisher, a senior.

“We’ve been working trying to get it,” Fisher said. “We just wanted to get it to the outside and shoot it from out there. It was amazing. I was ecstatic about that one.”

Goal keeper Parker Demeranville kept the Gators in the game by making nine saves, including seven in the first half. Forest’s first two goals came on a penalty kick by Chris Perez following a handball in the box, and a header by Tomas Juan Garcia off a corner kick in the 17th minute.

Garcia scored again in the 49th minute to put Forest ahead 3-2, but still the Gators refused to go away. They picked up the pace on the offensive end and missed a chance to tie it in the 65th minute when Greg Hayden’s shot sailed high over the goal.

Moments later, it was Forest’s turn to crank up the pressure and it finally cracked the Gators.

Randy Argueta scored in the 66th minute to give Forest a two-goal lead. Vicksburg midfielder Tyler Kimble, who had kept Forest’s leading scorer Dennys Diaz in check all day, received a yellow card a minute later for an intentional foul. Diaz, who has 23 goals this season, took advantage of his newfound freedom to score twice in the span of a minute and put the game well out of reach.

William Velasquez tacked on one more for the Bearcats in the 74th minute to make it 7-2.

“We just fell apart. We got too excited,” Fisher said. “It’s terrible. We tried, but we just fell apart. We’ve just got to work harder. We played very well at first. We played well together. That’s what we can get from this.”