Going into the Nov. 12 CCS quarterfinal match against St. Francis, field hockey players knew they would have to play a near-perfect game to beat the No. 2-seeded Lancers.

Instead, the Falcons’ defense broke down several times, leading to a 3-0 defeat and ending the girls’ season.

The girls had difficulty finding their passing game in the first half, and by the time they found their rhythm, it was too late.

“It was a tough loss against St. Francis, but I was really proud of us,” junior midfielder Hannah Johnson said. “We really improved as a whole from last year and we had a great season.”

On Nov. 10, the girls dominated the first game of CCS with a score of 4-0 at home against the Monterey Toreadores. The large fan attendance on the bleachers motivated the girls to play their best.

“At the end of the game, some of the water polo players a made signs for us and it was a really nice gesture,” junior midfielder Paige Kingston said.

Junior forward Megan Doles and sophomore midfielder Jennie Werner scored two goals each.

“I hadn’t scored a goal before so scoring two goals in a CCS game was really exciting,” Werner said.

“When I scored the goal, it was exactly like a drill we did during practice and it was nice to know all the hard work showed results,”

Qualifying and making it past the first round of CCS showed how the girls’ hard work paid off in the end. The Falcons improved from being 8th in the league last year to 5th this year.

“I’m really proud of how much our team improved from the beginning of the season. I definitely think the team can advance further in CCS next year,” senior captain Anna Ashe said.