The Fountain Hills High School girls soccer team keeps building up its resume. Two weeks ago, the Falcons scored their first home goal in over a year, and last week, they got their first win since 2021.

“We’re pretty ecstatic,” junior Erin Hooley said. “We’re super pumped for what’s to come and what our next game is going to be like…I think we are getting together as a team more, and working as a team, and I think we’re just figuring out some stuff we’ve been struggling with, but we’re getting it together now.”

The Falcons beat San Tan Foothills 3-0 last Friday, Jan. 13. Hooley scored the first goal, and junior Hailey Chandler scored the next two. According to Hooley, they scored all their goals in the first half and played more defensively in the second half to prevent a comeback.

The Falcons’ defense has allowed 41 goals in its first seven games, which is almost six per game. The defense held strong and forced the first shutout since a 3-0 win over Glendale Prep on March 2, 2021.

The players are communicating more and are more familiar with each other now. That led to more offense and more scoring, and now that confidence has found its way to defenders.

“You feel good when you can stop something, but it’s also if you mess up, you know there’s people behind you,” sophomore Racine Homyak said. “It’s good to have the team back with you while the other half is up, working hard to score.”

The win over San Tan came after a long week with two other games. The Falcons played BASIS Phoenix close on Monday, Jan. 9, but lost 6-2. Hooley scored one of the goals, and sophomore Sara Dethlefs scored the second.

“It was a pretty good fight, I would say,” Hooley said. “We definitely played more defensive, and whenever we had an opportunity to go, we just went for it.”

The Falcons did meet a tough Scottsdale Prep Academy team on Wednesday, Jan. 11, and they lost 10-0. With three games in one week, the Falcons were able to focus on the positives from their matches with BASIS and San Tan, and not dwell on the big loss too much.

The Falcons have a week in between games now, and they next host Anthem Prep this Friday, Jan. 20, at 4 p.m. With extra time and a three-day weekend because of MLK Day, the Falcons rested and recovered this week.

The Falcons should have 11 players for this Friday. Sophomore Zoe Kohoutek returned from injury and Dethlefs dealt with minor sickness this past weekend. The Falcons don’t have reserves, so any number of missing players has a big affect on their play.

“The [athletic director] of [San Tan] came up to me, and he was dumbfounded that 10 girls played some 20 plus girls and we took it to them,” head coach Malcolm Cutting said. “It was very neat to hear him speak. He was very appreciative and kind, and I think that says a lot about the girls.”

Cutting canceled outdoor practice on Monday, Jan. 16, because of rainy weather. He still had the players come for a meeting in the Falcon’s nest, and they addressed what was successful and what they need to do to be more successful.

Next week will be more similar to last week. The Falcons will play games on Monday, Jan. 23, Wednesday, Jan. 25, and Friday, Jan. 27. The Falcons’ last regular season game will be Tuesday, Jan. 31.

All the remaining games start at 4 p.m., and all but one will be a home game. The Falcons will travel to Scottsdale Christian Academy on Friday the 27th, and they’ll host Northwest Christian, Highland Prep and Madison Highland to finish the season.

The Falcons are finding their best stride in years, and they have home field advantage in most of their final games. The Falcons hope to build on their success and win a few more games before the season ends.