As head coach Ken Waterbury put it, the girls soccer team had a pair of “dominant wins” last week, besting Rancho Solano Prep on the road Feb. 22 by a score of 9-1 before topping Basis Phoenix at home on Feb. 25 by an even wider margin of 10-1.

That makes for five victories in a row for the Lady Falcons, moving their season total to 9-3 overall and 6-2 in region play.

The final match of the regular season was scheduled for Tuesday, March 2, on the road against the squad from Glendale Prep.

“Glendale Prep should provide a great challenge against another nine-win team and should give us a great preview of one of the teams we are likely to see when playoffs begin on March 10,” Waterbury said leading up to the match.

Rancho Solano

The Falcons traveled to take on Rancho Solano Feb. 22 and, while their opponents were without a win on the season up to that point, Waterbury said that the Falcons knew they would still need to play well to earn a win, especially with injuries limiting the squad to 10 players. One of the recovering players was goalkeeper Jeneya Boone, but a trio of her teammates were able to hold Rancho Solano to just a single goal.

“The girls came ready to play, though, and spent the majority of the time in the opposition’s half, which helped the goalkeeping experience that Olivia Sopeland, Peyton McAloon and Hailey Chandler had in their split time,” Waterbury said. “In the end, the offensive prowess of our top two goal scorers, Ashby Owen and Parker Sweet, was too much for RSP to handle.”

Owen finished the game with five goals and two assists while the Falcons’ current assist leader, Sweet, added three goals of her own on top of an additional four assists. Olivia Sopeland added a goal to the day’s total, with additional assists came from Lindsey McMahon, Morgan Soloman and Peyton McAloon. 

Basis Phoenix

Waterbury said that, in the Falcons’ final home and region game of the season, he encouraged the local ladies to make a statement and come out flying from the first minutes of the game.

“The girls dutifully delivered with two goals scored by Ashby Owen in the first five minutes of the game,” Waterbury added. “We did suffer a slight scare just a minute later when Basis was awarded a free kick outside of the 18-yard box and converted their opportunity for a goal underneath our defensive wall.”

That goal would turn out to be Basis’ last, however, as the Falcons went on to earn a whopping 10-1 final outcome. To counter Basis’ attempt at turning the tide, the Falcons scored another three goals within the first 10 minutes of play to make the game 5-1 early on.

“From that point forward, we were in control for the remainder of the half and continued to find opportunities…” Waterbury continued.

The team carried a 9-1 lead by the time halftime rolled around, allowing the Falcons to rotate players and keep legs fresh through the back half of the match.

Ashby Owen ended the game with four goals, moving her season total to 21. Hailey Chandler had a goal and two assists on the day, with Erin Hooley also adding a goal and two assists.

Lindsey McMahon scored a pair of headed goals from set pieces while Jeneya Boone scored the first goal of her high school career. Parker Sweet added four more assists to move to 20 on the season, which currently leads the state across all conferences. Stella Grieco wrapped up the offensive effort with an assist of her own.