Girls’ soccer: Upcoming games critical for spot in CCS

February 9, 2015 — by Karissa Dong and Emily Chen

Now sitting in fourth place in the De Anza league with a 3-5-2 league record, the girls’ soccer team hopes to secure its chances of making CCS in the last few games of the season. The Falcons must win two of their three upcoming matches to qualify for CCS.

Now sitting in fourth place in the De Anza league with a 3-5-2 league record, the girls’ soccer team hopes to secure its chances of making CCS in the last few games of the season. The Falcons must win two of their three upcoming matches to qualify for CCS.

On Feb. 5 the team lost a crucial game to Los Altos 3-0. About halfway through the first half, junior goalkeeper Isa Berardo was kicked on the side of her forehead while making a save and had to sit out for the rest of the game. Junior back-up goalkeeper Sarah Price filled in for Berardo for the remainder of the game.

The team did not expect this devastating loss; in their first matchup against Los Altos (now with a 2-7-0 league record), the Falcons won 2-0. This loss places even more importance on winning their next games.

“We came out much stronger in the first game [against Los Altos] and having our fans support us at home games makes a big difference,” senior co-captain Amy Shepherd said.

At home on Feb. 3, the Falcons lost a hard-fought match 2-0 to a highly talented Palo Alto team. Both goals were scored by junior Jacey Pederson, perhaps the top player in the league.

I think we played a lot stronger than our first game against them and worked harder but I think we were still just a beat behind them,” Berardo said. “They are a good team, I'll give them that, but I think not everyone was on their game today, including me.”

Late in the second half, sophomore forward Karissa Dong took a hard fall on her face after jumping and getting tangled with a defender to receive a ball from the air. She suffered a concussion and slightly twisted ankle and is expected to be out the rest of the season.

On Jan. 29, the team defeated Los Gatos during the Cats’ senior day game, the second win against their long-time rivals this season. Junior defender Kaitlyn Chen converted a penalty kick in the first half, which proved to be enough for a 1-0 victory.

“I’m really glad that I get to end my high school career with these memories of coming together as a team and beating [Los Gatos],” senior captain Anisha Nagarajan said. “[Even though] it’s a small part of the season in the long run, those two games have definitely been ones I will remember for a long time.”

The team came up short to Homestead 1-0 on Jan. 27 and lost on Jan. 24 2-0 to Mountain View.

The team’s senior day game against Santa Clara on Feb. 12 could not be covered due to printing deadlines. The girls have a scrimmage against Hillsdale on Feb. 14 and their final league game at Mountain View on Feb. 17.

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