Through nine league games, the Scotts Valley Falcons girl’s soccer team had not tasted defeat, and in eight of those contests the Falcon defense was near perfect, allowing just one goal.
On Feb. 7, the winning streak came to an end when the Santa Cruz Cardinals edged the Falcons 1-0 in the team’s final meeting of the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League season.
The Cardinals lone goal happened when an errant pass by a Falcon player wound up in the team’s own net in the 34th minute.
“Every game and every goal is critical at this point,” said Falcon junior goalkeeper Emily Johnson, who recently verbally commitment to the highly touted Santa Clara University soccer program. “I couldn’t see what our girls were doing. I should’ve had that one”
The Cardinals managed possession of the ball for most of the game, keeping the Falcon scoring opportunities to a minimum. With a mix of ball control on offense and smart defense, Santa Cruz contained Scotts Valley for the remainder of the contest.
Santa Cruz is the only team Scotts Valley has not beaten in league this season — which includes a 0-0 tie between the two teams on Jan. 12.
The league-leading Falcons (11-4-1 overall record, including 8-1-1 in the SCCAL) play again at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 14 against Harbor High at Cabrillo College. Scotts Valley can secure a second consecutive Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League title by winning its two remaining games.
With the victory, Santa Cruz improved to 4-2-3 in league and 10-3-3 overall and sits in second place.
