Falcons take the long road to victory

When the smoke and ash that filled the air around Folsom last month caused several soccer game cancellations, FLC's head coach Donny Ribaudo scrambled quickly to add games to fill out his team's schedule.  When you're desperate, you'll take what you can get, including a 600-mile round trip to Taft, CA.  

That's what the Falcons did on Friday, leaving campus at 7:00 am for the 5+ hour trek south on I-5 to the scenic (!) oil-drilling town in the southwest corner of the San Joaquin Valley.  The long road trip apparently didn't affect the Falcons, though, as they scored two goals in the first 30 minutes of play, then made those goals stand up against a tough Taft squad - ranked number 13 in the state - for a hard-fought 2-0 victory.  Sophomore midfielder Cassandra Herrman scored an unassisted goal in the 25th minute to get the Falcons started, and freshman forward Maggie Munoz padded the lead five minutes later with the Falcons' second goal, assisted by Jasmine Alvarez.  The Cougars, despite the two-goal disadvantage, did not give in and fought hard throughout the entire match.  Falcon goalkeeper Grace Filiau refused to be beaten, though, as she recorded her second shutout of the week and fifth of the season.

The Falcons - currently ranked #6 in California - improved their overall record to 7-0-2 and will host Big 8 Conference foe Santa Rosa (6-4 overall, 1-1 in Big 8) on Tuesday afternoon at 3:30 pm.