The Fountain Hills High School girls soccer team lost 6-0 to Benjamin Franklin High School last Wednesday, Nov. 30. The Falcons are fighting an uphill battle this season, but there is still plenty of optimism around the team.

The Falcons allowed three goals in quick succession during the first 20 minutes of the game, but they settled down and didn’t allow another score in the half. The Falcons also started the day with nine eligible players, and a tenth player joined the day of the match.

Junior Erin Hooley didn’t have cleats at the start of the game, but assistant coach Evelyn Cutting grabbed her some. Hooley played for the Falcons last year and went in halfway through the first half to help the Falcons close the half down 3-0.

“I lucked out,” head coach Malcolm Cutting said. “She did it all. It was a total game changer, and then she started going after it.”

The Falcons did not score, but they did put occasional pressure on the Ben Franklin defense. Even with Hooley in the game, the Falcons were playing with one less player on the field and had no substitutes. Cutting put it as playing with 10 against 22.

“It’s definitely tough playing down players, because the other team has fresh legs and we don’t,” sophomore Sara Dethlefs said. “A lot of our players have never played before, so I think that first 20 minutes was just really rough because they were figuring out even where to stand.”

Dethlefs is new to Fountain Hills but is an experienced soccer player from Washington. She said that losing the first game was a little frustrating because the Falcons have so many new players, but she’s confident things will improve.

“I thought we fought really hard. Outcome was not it, but that’s okay,” Dethlefs said. “It’s definitely going to get easier once the newer players figure out where they’re supposed to be positioned and what they’re supposed to do.”

Cutting said the girls team is a unique situation, and he also thinks he’s going to get a few more new players to help fill the team out. If he gets more new players, he’ll have to rely even more on the few veterans that exist on the roster.

“First of all, the older ones are helping the younger ones, and that’s key for me,” Cutting said. “It’s almost like your best player is the one that’s the newest, and you drive them to get to be the best. That’s a philosophy I’ve always had.”

The girls played well in the second half, especially given the circumstances. Last year, the defense crumbled in the second half, but last week, they held strong until the end. The defense did start to crack, and Ben Franklin scored three more goals in the final 20 minutes.

Every Falcon, new and experienced, dealt with first game nerves last week. The Falcons played at Gilbert Classical yesterday, Tuesday, Dec. 6, and they host Coolidge tomorrow, Thursday, Dec. 8, at 4 p.m.

“I think we could definitely improve our relaxing,” Dethlefs said. “I think a lot of people’s nerves got to them, because everyone’s new, but next week, I’m just hoping we keep it calm, pass it more, get some through balls up and over.”