The FCC women’s soccer team kicked off the 2010 season as they look to make another run deep into the state playoffs. Ranked No. 7 to start off the 2010 season in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll, the Rams made the trek down to Orange, Calif. to take on the defending state and national champion Hawks of Santiago Canyon.
The Rams played a tough match against the No.1 ranked Hawks, but in the end Santiago Canyon proved to be too much for FCC on this day as the Hawks closed out the Rams with a 2-0 defeat.
Freshman defender Paige Mason thinks that the Rams will be able to bounce back from the opening game and return to the winning ways that have made this team a viable threat the past decade.
“We put up a good fight,” said Mason. “[Santiago Canyon] is the defending champs. We just need to be more aggressive on the field and establish a nice rhythm early on in the games,” said Mason.
Although FCC isn’t used to starting off a season with a loss, coach Oliver Germond is never one to shy away from competition.
“Our philosophy is to try to play the best so we can see where we’re at,” said Rams coach Oliver Germond. “We had some good quality chances [against Santiago Canyon] and unfortunately we weren’t able to finish.”
The Rams continue to live by Germond’s philosophy. 10 of the Rams’ non-conference opponents participated in the 2009 state playoffs. Seven of those teams were seeded 10 or higher in their respective regions in playoff brackets and both No. 1 seeds from last year’s tournament (Santiago Canyon and Solano) are on the schedule this year.
“Every year I feel we have one of the hardest if not the hardest non-conference schedule in the state,” Germond said.
“It’s paid off because we’ve been the No.1 or the No. 2 seed for six years in a row now.”
FCC looked to bounce back from their season opening loss as they traveled down south to play in the Ventura tournament over the past weekend.
FCC’s first opponent of the tournament was Orange Coast. The Rams weren’t going to allow their season to start off 0-2 as they took care of business against the Pirates of Orange Coast on their way to a 1-0 victory behind a Jesslyn
Fagundes goal that developed with an assist from Ashlynn Marino.
On Saturday, the Rams took to the field against Cuyamaca looking to build off their momentum established the day before against Orange Coast.
FCC continued their solid play on both sides of the ball as the Rams dispatched the Coyotes for a 3-0 win. Sophomores Megan Hinson and Carley Griffin each scored a goal for the Rams. Freshman forward Liliana Ruiz scored the final goal of the day for FCC as the Rams completed their second consecutive shutout.
The Rams return six starters from the 2009 campaign, most notably Jesslyn Fagundes who racked up 23 goals last season and is 11 goals short of holding the all-time career record at FCC after scoring her first goal of the 2010 season against Orange Coast.
Up next for FCC, the Rams will face Las Positas on Sept. 7 before hosting their first home game of the 2010 season against Diablo Valley on Friday at 4 p.m.
The Rams will then face tough back-to-back games against Cosumnes River and American River. Both opponents reached the state final four last year. American River reached the final four by defeating FCC in the third round 1-0.
