The scores are getting tighter but the results are the same as they’ve been all season: With three games to go, the Falcon girls soccer team is undefeated and looking to stay that way.
On Thursday, senior forward Claudia Gil-Osorio gave the Falcons the first of the few guarentees they’ll get going into the playoffs by scoring two goals in a 3-0 South Whidbey victory over Granite Falls. Sophomore Katie Watson also scored for the Falcons.
Though not as decisive as South Whidbey’s 6-0 drubbing of the Tigers on Sept. 20, the victory took the team to 13-0, clinched at least a tie for the North Cascades Conference championship and gave the Falcons a first-round bye for this year’s district playoffs.
The late-week win followed a tougher contest at home in which the Nooksack Valley Pioneers — a 5-0 South Whidbey victim on Sept. 18 — managed to stay close in a 2-0 loss. Again, Gil-Osorio made the difference, scoring in the fourth minute of the first half and the second minute of the second in the shutout.
The wins gave the Falcons their eighth and ninth shutouts of the season as they head into what could be their toughest three games. On Saturday, the Falcons host Mount Baker, a team the Falcons went to an overtime shootout to beat 1-0 on Sept. 23. On Tuesday, the girls travel to Blaine, a team that held the Falcons to just two goals in a game earlier this season. The Falcons close the season against Lakewood at Waterman Field Oct. 28, a team that succumbed to South Whidbey by just one goal on Oct. 2.
In this week’s games, Gil-Osorio — South Whidbey’s leading scorer — ran her tally to 24 goals on the season, slightly more than half of the Falcons’ total of 46 goals. Her scores came Tuesday on assists from Katie Watson and Kelsey Kimmel. On Thursday, she converted a corner kick from senior defender Natalie Schmidt half way through the first half, then nailed her fourth header goal of the year just before halftime.
Keeping the ball out of the net for South Whidbey was junior Allyson Riggs. Though she faced just 10 shots in the two games compared to the 63 the Falcons aimed at their opponents’ goals, Riggs found herself alone a few times. Against Granite Falls, she made two key deflections against Tiger strikers who managed the near-impossible feat of getting clear of South Whidbey’s defenders.
Commenting on how the scores of his team’s games are getting closer, coach Paul Arand said the Falcons put every opponent into pure defensive mode.
“I think a lot of teams are playing more defense against us,” he said.
The Falcons’ record this season is the best in team history. This season will mark the first time the team has won the NCC. To take the title outright, the Falcons need to win just one more game.
