Continued victories offer girls’ soccer a chance at CCS

February 2, 2016 — by Fiona Sequeira

The Falcons reel off victories against Los Gatos, Homestead and Milpitas.

After defeating rival Los Gatos 3-0 on Jan. 25, the girls’ soccer team has maintained its upward momentum. With a 4-3-2 record, the Falcons stand in third place in the tough De Anza league and are likely to make CCS.

At an away game against Homestead on Jan. 27, the girls notched a 3-0 victory. After Homestead conceded a handball outside the box in the first half, senior fullback Kaitlyn Chen’s direct kick deflected off Homestead’s wall and into the net’s lower left corner for the girls’ first goal.

Near the end of the first half, senior forward Kimberly Chen crossed the ball to senior center midfielder Lauren Plesse, who finished her chance, making the score 2-0. Kimberly drew a foul in the penalty box at the close of the second half, and Kaitlyn calmly placed her penalty kick in the lower right corner, sealing the game with a third goal.

“Homestead can be an unpredictable team, and it got a bit scary in the second half when they lingered around our goal for a while,” Kaitlyn said. “But we pulled through and got the shutout; beating Homestead was really important for us.”

At home on Jan. 29, the Falcons won 1-0 against Milpitas. Early in the second half, senior fullback Lauren Maia crossed the ball to sophomore center midfielder Daphne Liu, whose shot bounced off the goalkeeper. Kimberly pounced on the rebound and buried the ball in the back of the net.

“We were unable to maintain possession well in the first half, but I’m happy I was able to capitalize on my chance and score,” Kimberly said.

Head coach Ben Maxwell is proud of the fighting spirit the players have shown for one another on the field, an “attitude of togetherness” that the team has continued from its undefeated preseason.

“Teams can always improve, but it’s such a short season that we focus on the positives,” Maxwell said. “When we have a bad game, we move on quickly to the next one.”

On Feb. 3, the Falcons tied second place Mountain View 0-0.

With the Falcons currently at third place in the league, the team will automatically make CCS.

“Going to CCS would be incredible and would surpass our preseason ambitions,” Maxwell said. “We have put ourselves in a great spot, and not losing in our remaining games to the teams around us, like Santa Clara and Los Gatos, should get us into CCS.”

Due to printing deadlines, the Falcon was unable to cover the games against Palo Alto and Santa Clara on Feb. 10 and Feb. 12, respectively.

 
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