Girls’ soccer: Team begins pre-season on the right foot

Competing in one of the top leagues in CCS, the De Anza league, the girls on the varsity soccer team have a challenge ahead of them this season. The team rose up to the challenge in its first few pre-season games of the year.

The team won 5-1 against Willow Glen on Dec. 13 and tied Kings Academy 0-0 on Dec. 6.
The team also competed in its first pre-season games in the Palo Alto tournament during the weekends of Dec. 2 and 9. The tournament consisted of four games for the team.

The Falcons faced their first opponent, Menlo, on Dec. 2, where they were winning 1-0 until the last five minutes when Menlo scored a goal off a free kick just outside of the box. Sophomore Mackenzie Koenig scored the goal in the first 10 minutes of the game off a cross from senior midfielder Courtney Brandt. The game ended in a 1-1 tie.

In the second game of the tournament the team lost 1-0 against Mountain View, who finished first in their league last year. Goalie Allyson Nilan Axline saved a remarkable seven one-on-ones against forwards on the Mountain View team.

The last two games of the tournament ended with a 0-0 tie with Sacred Heart Prep and a 3-1 win against Santa Clara.

The team ended the tournament in second to last place.

Despite a tough first couple games, the girls remain positive for the rest of the season. They have already begun improving their play to match up with tougher opponents.

“I think we put in a lot of effort and played really hard teams in the tournament,” sophomore forward and center mid Lindsay Webster said. “But we matched up quite well against them and there were a lot of times when we completely dominated.”

Center defender and co-captain senior Kari Clark got a concussion after hitting heads with a Mountain View forward in the first 10 minutes of the game and was unable to play the rest of the game. Clark will be out for one week due to the injury, but was impressed with the team’s performance in the tournament.

“It’s definitely challenging that we’re in a higher league,” Clark said, “But I think we did really well competing with one of the teams [Mountain View] we will play in league again.”

The De Anza league is a step up for the defending El Camino League champions, but the girls and coach Molly Flanagan are up for the challenge.

“This year will be substantially different because of the higher league,” Flanagan said. “Every game will be against a top team and I’m just trying to keep the team mentally and physically prepared for the challenge.”

This year the team is playing a 4-4-2 formation instead of the 4-5-1 they played with last season. Flanagan said she hopes it will work better with the players on the team this year.

This season, there are 24 girls on the varsity squad, including nine seniors and Flanagan is looking for senior leadership throughout the season.
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The Falcons will face Mountain View again in their next game (also the first league game of the season) on Jan. 4 at 3:30 PM at Mountain View.