The Fountain Hills High School boys soccer team lost the home opener match 6-1 to Benjamin Franklin High School last Wednesday, Nov. 30. Junior Jaxson Butcher made a penalty kick with less than 10 minutes left in the match to get the Falcons on the board.

“I think it was pretty even to what we expected,” senior Nico Cini said. “We have a lot of new players and a lot of younger players, too, who have never played. I think as the season goes on, we’ll do better, but it was a decent first game.”

Like the girls team, the boys have several new faces on the roster, and most were asked to play big roles in their first game. Only one of the back four defenders, junior Brendan Davies, played last year, and even the goalie, senior Zach Gratton, played his first ever soccer game.

Unlike the girls team, the boys have extra players and they can be moved around to other positions easily. Head coach Malcolm Cutting took notes following the game and had a discussion with his team about improvements in practice the next day.

“I’m thinking of who played really well, and what position did they played in,” Cutting said. “What changes can I make to make this a better team?...I let them make their own observations. They didn’t bring up communication, but boy did they bring up passing. They owned it, and they knew it.”

The Falcons put pressure on the Chargers’ defenders, but they hardly ever worked their way down the field. Instead, the Falcons booted the ball downfield several times, and tried to let the forwards make something happen.

“I think organization needs improvement, but what worked was when we kept the ball at our feet,” Cini said. “Long balls and other things like that do not work, we don’t have the discipline for that. I think ball at our feet is best.”

Cini was a back row defender last season but played further up the field last week. Cini is one of the most experienced Falcons and is the only senior to return from last year’s team. There are several other seniors playing soccer for the first time this year.

Cutting also tried at least three different people in the midfield spot to gauge who could play the position best. He made sure to give them all feedback in practice as well as asking for feedback on his coaching from the players.

Part of the reasoning behind Cutting’s rotations was to give his players some relief, but it also serves as a reminder that they are in the growth process. There are a lot of moving parts, and the Falcons are trying to figure out the best combination.

Cutting was hired shortly before the season, and he’s trying to put together the best version of his team with the time he has. The Falcons have two more matches this month, and then all of winter break to prepare for a busy January.

The Falcons played at Gilbert Classical yesterday, Tuesday, Dec. 6, and they host Coolidge tomorrow, Thursday, Dec. 8, at 6 p.m. The last match of the semester will be at home against Anthem Prep on Friday, Dec. 16, at 6 p.m.