As the last seconds of the first half ticked away in the Jan. 25 game at Los Gatos, senior fullback Kaitlyn Chen backed up for a free kick and launched the ball into the 18-yard box with a powerful strike from her left foot. Senior captain and striker Lauren Plesse, poised just outside of the box, headed the ball over a clump of players and past the scrambling goalkeeper.
After losing the three previous games, the Falcons finally managed to score — and this time, against their fierce rivals. Freshman striker Isabella Taylor added a second in the start of the second half, and a goal from senior forward and center midfielder Kimberly Chen concluded the game at 3-0.
“[I felt] absolutely fantastic. It’s a feeling I will never forget,” senior captain and goalkeeper Isa Berardo said. “The whole team came out strong; we knew this was our game.”
After an undefeated preseason, the girls have a record of 2-1-3 in the upper De Anza League.
Earlier, on the rainy afternoon of Jan. 22, the team played to a 0-0 tie in a league match against Santa Clara at home. Unlucky shots and wet weather contributed to the frustrating tie.
“We need to make the most of the chances that we get,” sophomore striker Caroline Chen said. “We were very unlucky on our set plays [that day].”
Playing against Palo Alto away on Jan. 20, the girls fell short 3-0. In spite of the loss, the team gave their best against one of the league’s top teams, managing several corner kicks, though they were unable to convert any to a goal.
The girls also lost 1-0 in a hard-fought game against Mountain View on Jan. 13, after a first-half strike from the opponent and a goalless second half. Nonetheless, Berardo praised the girls’ performance against last year’s league leaders.
“[Mountain View] didn’t deserve to win with the way we played,” Berardo said. “I’m really looking forward to playing them again [on Feb. 3] and hopefully beating them [for the first time in recent history].”
At an away game against Milpitas on Jan. 8, the Falcons won 3-0, with one goal from Caroline and a brace from junior striker Karissa Dong. On the opening game of the season against Homestead on Jan. 6, the girls fought to the last minute but lost; a strike from Kimberly, penalty from Kaitlyn and an own goal by the Homestead defense sealed the close score of 4-3.
“I’m very happy so far with our record, because the level of play this year has been excellent,” Berardo said. “I have no doubt that we are going to go far in this league.”
Due to printing deadlines, the Falcon was unable to cover the games against Homestead and Milpitas on Jan. 27 and Jan, 29, respectively.