Falcons search for answers at goalie even as their offense jumps to a fast start

Senior captain and center-back Jiah Jung defends the ball against Notre Dame on Dec. 5.

The addition of the strong freshman class leaves girls’ soccer confident for a successful season, despite early preseason results due to having no goalie.

Trailing behind 1-0 in the first half to Notre Dame — despite controlling most of the possession and having more shots on goal — senior captain and midfielder Kate Oberhauser struck through the ball from outside the 18-yard box for the equalizer. Not long after, freshman midfielder Katie Lu, assisted by a slit pass from sophomore striker Keatyn Spendlove, put the Falcons in the lead right before halftime. With Spendlove scoring the third and final goal in the second half, the Falcons won 3-1; this home game on Dec. 5 marked the girls’ soccer team’s first win.

In their other home games, the Falcons beat Kings Academy 2-1 on Dec. 9, beat Silver Creek 2-1 on Dec. 7, lost 4-0 to Redwood on Dec. 2, and lost 5-2 to Hillsdale on Nov. 30, putting them at a 2-2 record in the preseason as of Dec. 8.

For the last two years, the team has struggled to find a goalkeeper and has had to rely on a field player to step in to fill the role. This year, five different field players out of the 17-man roster have had to step up to play a half or more in goal, leaving many girls playing out of their familiar positions and interfering with the ability to get comfortable with a consistent starting lineup.

“Not having a goalkeeper [hurts] the team because they [often] take on a big leadership role — they’re the only players that can see the entire field,” senior captain and center-back Jiah Jung said. “Because we [play out from] the back a lot of the time after goal kicks, if we don’t have a solid foundation from the start, it leads to a really shaky play afterward.”

The team’s inconsistent results can be majorly attributed to an absence of a trained, regular goalie and a lack of communication on the field when making runs or trying to keep the ball. However, Jung is confident that once the team builds chemistry and becomes familiar with their new positions, they will be able to have a successful season.

Under the guidance of returning head coach Ben Maxwell in the De Anza League, the team is smaller than last year and has no JV team. Practices have been shorter — but with high intensity — so the team is healthy for games and reduces the risk of injuries.

After the graduation of six seniors, Jung was worried the team would struggle to form a solid starting lineup; however, the strong freshman class proved otherwise as they are “very willing to work.” Specifically, the addition of three freshman starters — wingers and midfielders Lu, Claire Chen and Emma Merril — who play alongside Spendlove and Oberhauser have proven to be deadly in attack.

“I think our strength lies in the starting lineup of our team,” Jung said. “A lot of the players play club [in the offseason], and I think that our attack is pretty strong this year. However, our weakness comes from a lack of players as we might get fatigued over the season.”

Similar to last year, the team features stronger offensive players than defensive ones. The Falcons are scheduled to close out preseason playing at home to Alisal on Dec. 12 and their first league game will also be at home against Los Altos on Dec. 14.