The game started with the Falcons coming out immediately and challenging the Cougars for every possession. Our Falcons were able to build an aggressive offensive attack from the start. In the 24th minute freshman Emmy Koflanovich weaved through the Cougar defense and sent a perfect pass to fellow freshman Mikaela Inman who took the pass, settled the ball and fired a shot into the left side of the Cougars goal. When play resumed our Falcon defense continued using their speed and skills to keep the ball in the Cougars half of the field. In the 33rd minute the Falcons strung together several passes when junior Allie Carl passed the ball into the front of the Cougars net. The Cougar defenders and goalkeeper tried to kick it clear but they were unable to do so. Senior captain Jessica DuBridge tried to punch the ball into the goal but it was deflected to junior Nicole LaPorte who kicked the ball into the Cougar goal from point blank range. The first half had the Falcons with 7 shots on goal while the Cougars were kept to 0 shots on goal. The half ended with the Falcons 2 to the Cougars 0.

The second half had both teams coming out fresh and attempting to build an attack. Once again our lady Falcons did a great job controlling the middle of the field and stopping Cougar attacks with good defense. The game was evenly played until the 64th minute when our Falcons strung several passes together in front of the Cougar goal. The Cougar defense bent a little but kept clearing the ball. Freshman Mikaela Inman was able to slow down the ball and back passed to Falcon freshman defender Desiree Rakela. Rakela raced forward where she struck a shot from approximately 30 yards out. The ball was sent like a laser into the upper net of the Cougar goal. The second half had the Falcons with 5 more shots on goal while the Cougars put 1 shot on goal. The game ended with the score being Falcons 3 to the Cougars 0.

The Falcon goalkeepers were senior captain Emily Johnson (70 Min) and junior Claire Covert (10 min). The defense was led by junior co captain Megan Keating, junior Darby McFall, freshman Mary Lonhart, freshman Desiree Rakela and sophomore Althea Ball. The Falcon midfielders were led by senior captain Madison Black, freshman Emmy Koflanovich, junior Melinda Lane, sophomore Taylor Raymond, junior Allie Carl and junior Nicole LaPorte. The Falcons forwards were played by senior captain Jessica DuBridge, freshman Audrey Liebenberg and freshman Mikaela Inman. Falcon players having an exceptional game were Madison Black, Emmy Koflanovich and Mikaela Inman.

I want to thank the Cougar players and coaches for a great game. Our Falcon record is now 3 wins, 4 losses and 3 ties. We are 1 win, 0 losses and 1 tie in SCCAL play. We have a very young team that is slowly developing their skills and building a solid chemistry with each other. The players show a lot of heart, pride, respect and trust with each other which will eventually make us a solid, competitive and consistent team. Kudos goes out to our upperclassmen who are playing with passion and tolerance. As a team we are fighting through a lack of experience, injuries, adversity and moving forward. Our next game will be on Thursday January 10th, 3:30 PM against the powerhouse Santa Cruz Cardinals at Scotts Valley High School.