Lady Falcons Soccer Wins In First Round

The FLC women's soccer team had to play catch-up, but eventually pulled off a 3-1 win over Hartnell on Friday night in the first round of the CCCAA state playoffs.  The Falcons fell behind early when Hartnell scored in the 15^th minute on what Falcon goalkeeper Aubrey Hall admitted "…was a costly mistake."  After taking a pass from a teammate, Hall's intended pass to midfield was intercepted and converted for an easy Panther goal.  "I was devastated," Hall said.  The Falcons didn't let it keep them down for long, though, as sophomore Chayney Mata tied the game five minutes later on a header into the net off a corner kick from Andrea Martinez.  Still, Hall felt it was her fault that her team was not leading.  Her chance for redemption came early in the second half when a Falcon defender was called for a foul in the goal box, resulting in a Hartnell penalty kick.  But Hall made a huge stop as she dove to her right, deflecting the ball away to preserve the 1-1 score.  The stop provided a visible boost to the Falcons and a shot of confidence to Hall, who then shut down the Panthers the rest of the match.  In the 66^th minute, Alyssa Gallagher found team scoring leader Sami Thomas with a pass just outside the 18, and Thomas sent a left-footed rocket into the net for a 2-1 lead.  Now playing with a lead for the first time, the Falcons continued to pressure the Hartnell defense.  Eight minutes later, the Falcons put the match out of reach when Thomas spotted Hannah O'Donnell making a run on the right side.  "I had the ball and I turned and saw Hannah," Thomas said. "I know she can beat anyone because she's super-fast, so I played it through to her and she scored."  With a 3-1 lead, the Falcons' defense clamped down for the final 15 minutes to secure the win.

Falcon head coach Donny Ribaudo was obviously pleased with the victory.  "It was a great experience. We were down by a goal, but we stayed composed and fought back. We hope to learn from this experience and take it into the next round."  The Falcons will face LRCCD sister college Cosumnes River in the second round tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon at 4:00 pm at Falcon Stadium.  It was the Hawks who defeated Folsom Lake 1-0 in last year's opening round of the playoffs, played in a pea-soup fog at FLC.  The two teams also met earlier this season – way back on September 1 – at CRC and played to 3-3 draw.  The winner tomorrow will advance to face the Fresno/Taft winner on Saturday for the right to play in the State Final Four.