The La Salle girl’s varsity soccer team begins their league season this Thursday, Sep. 25 at 7 p.m, at home against Canby High School.

Their season has gotten off to a rough start, with six losses in their six preseason games.

However, the Falcons played five of their six non-league games against high-ranked 6A teams, with the other against the top-ranked team in 5A. Despite the losses, they remained competitive in all but one game, only losing one match by more than two goals.

Many players on the team have pointed to their 3-1 loss against the reigning 6A state champions, the Jesuit Crusaders, as their best performance of the season so far.

“We had really good defense that game,” freshman winger Lila Chipps said.

Senior Lilly Erving said that the effort from the whole team was great that game, and not a single player gave up.

“We still lost, but I think it’s internally a win,” she added.

Against Jesuit, junior goalkeeper Lucy Maloney was a standout performer according to senior forward Greta Dazer. Maloney made numerous big saves, including stopping a penalty, and kept the team in the game.

“Lucy is doing fantastic,”  Dazer said. “She’s always been good, but [this season], she’s doing a really fantastic job.”

This season, the Falcons underwent a change in coaches. After the departure of long-term head coach Andy Frazier, they promoted last season’s assistant coach Michael Chrisman into the senior coaching role, as well as hiring assistant coach Nicolas Marquez, also known as Nico.

Chrisman and Marquez strongly emphasized the importance of team chemistry, setting up plenty of team bonding activities, including a retreat to the Oregon Coast.

“The past few years we have been bonded, but it hasn’t been led by the coach,” Erving said. “This year, we went on a retreat, which really helped us, and we’re always doing activities.”

The team has players from each grade level this season, with two freshmen, four sophomores, six juniors, and six seniors. Chipps and sophomore midfielder Emily Hoesly, both underclassmen, look towards seniors Julia Hoesly, Dazer, and Erving as the team’s main leaders.

“Greta is like the ‘hype man’, she gets everyone hyped for games, says some inspirational things,” Emily Hoesly said.

She added that Julia Hoesly and Erving are more serious, helping to get the team “locked in.” 

Erving also believes the team’s two freshmen, Chipps and Avelina Faris, have been great additions to the team, on and off the field. 

“They’ve brought a side of goofiness to the team,” she said. “They’re so lovable and silly, and they’re also really hard working.”

Before games, the team gets themselves hyped by listening to “World Cup” by IShowSpeed. They also have many rituals before each game, the most notable being when they bless their cleats.

“We all take off our cleats, put them in a circle, and then circle around and pray… pray to do well in the game and stuff,” Emily Hoesly said.

Beginning their first match of league play this week, the Falcons are prepared for matchups that will likely be easier than teams they have played in non-league thus far.

“I think playing 6A teams has been really good for us,” Emily Hoesly said. “It will make us perform better against easier teams.”

In league play, the team’s biggest goals are to win their games against Canby and Wilsonville High School, along with gaining a high seed going into playoffs.

Erving, in her fourth year with the team, believes that the biggest difference with this team is how close-knit they are. “We all have inside jokes with each other,” she said.

Last season, the team didn’t make it out of the first round of playoffs, and they aim to make it further this year. 

“We want to win state,” Chipps said.