Falcon Women's Soccer Lose Two Close Matches

FLC women's head coach Donny Ribaudo decided to give his squad a tough early-season test by playing in the Nike/Ventura Classic Tournament.  Their first game was Thursday night against host college Ventura and was played just hours after a nine-hour drive from Folsom. 

The teams were very evenly matched, with the only goal coming in the first half on a Ventura Free Kick.  "It was an early-season mistake," commented Ribaudo.  "We weren't as organized in front of the goal as we should have been, and they took advantage of it."  Both teams had several other scoring chances, including a second-half shot by freshman forward Sami Thomas (on a perfect pass from Alexis Wallace) that the VC goalie barely deflected away.  Coach Ribaudo also noted the stellar play of freshman center back Chayney Mata as having a big impact on the game.

The Falcons had Friday to regroup before taking on 3-time State Champion Cypress on Saturday afternoon.  For the first 20 minutes against Cypress, FLC controlled the ball and had some good chances to score but came away empty.  Cypress eventually scored a first-half goal, then another early in the second half to lead 2-0. 

But the Falcons didn't quit; in fact, things got very interesting when sophomore Caitlin Castle found sophomore transfer Michelle Kimball with a cross that Michelle volleyed into the net.  Down 2-1 with 20 minutes to play, the Falcons kept pressing the attack but eventually ran out of time.  "Even though our record is 0-2, this team is very promising," said Ribaudo.  "We had two starters out (sophomores Brianna Buckle and Kelsey Decker) with injuries that forced us to go deep into our bench.  We have a ton of potential and we have sophomores who aren't used to losing who are now very hungry." 

Their next chance to quell that appetite will come on Friday (Sept 5), when the Falcons travel to Coalinga to take on West Hills College.