Photo Credit: Isabella Mahal

Fossil Ridge High School’s boy’s soccer C-Team currently has a 7-1 record with three games remaining in the season. However, as with most high schools, the most hyped up, tough, and spirited games take place against crosstown rivals. This season, Fossil has played three games against Fort Collins High School and Rocky Mountain High School (the Poudre High School game was canceled due to an early snowstorm on Monday, October 9). One of each of those games took place on home turf. Each time, at least one player walked away with a yellow card, one was carried off the field, and Fossil was victorious.

Gallery • 9 Photos

#12 Sebastian Suarez plays midfield, which requires a great deal of ball control.

September 13 – Fossil versus Fort Collins

by Alexander Chappell

The Fossil Ridge High School boy’s soccer C-Team continued their undefeated streak as they took on Fort Collins High School on Wednesday, September 13, defeating them 3-1 at Fossil.

Collins started strong, quickly gaining several scoring opportunities. However, Fossil came back in the 10th minute and began getting shots as well. Collins scored in the 24th minute, but Fossil quickly recovered. Preston Weiner, with an assist by Sebastian Suarez, put one in to tie the game in the 33rd minute. The score at the end of the first half was 1-1.

In the second half, Fossil had the downhill advantage and no sun in their eyes. They didn’t waste time taking some shots on goal, and Edward Chavez and Landon Johanson scored two consecutive goals early in this half. After these goals, Fossil kept a strong defensive line, forcing Collins offsides and preventing them from getting shots on goal. At the end of the game, the scoreboard still read 3-1.

The Fossil head coach, Minnas Ephraim, was thrilled with his team’s success. “We had been training very hard this week to beat Collins,” he stated, and even though they let in one goal, Ephraim was still “very proud of his team.” The coach also talked about Fossil’s overall improvement from their first game to this one. He firmly believes, “The team has better chemistry now, and we know how to play together. The players really know their roles on the team.”

Be sure to come out and support the team Monday, September 18, as they face off against another tough rival, Rocky Mountain High School, at home.

Gallery • 8 Photos

Goalkeeper Sebastian Mahal, #1, defends a shot that arched over the defense.

September 18 – Fossil versus Rocky Mountain

On Monday, September 18, at 4 pm Fossil Ridge High School’s boy’s C soccer team took on Rocky Mountain High School at home. The final score was 2-2, the closest match that Fossil has faced all season. The team remains undefeated after five games, and they are working together better each time they set foot on the field.

Rocky came out strong during the first ten minutes of play, immediately scoring in the fifth minute. They had multiple shots on goal and dominated possession, forcing the defense and goalkeeper to devote all their focus to preventing another goal. Sophomore Sebi Suarez, a mid, and freshman Drew Townsend, a defender, teamed up repeatedly to clear the ball from the box and move it up the field. When the whistle blew at the half, Fossil was down 0-1.

Both teams went into the second half rejuvenated. In the forty-fifth minute, Fossil was awarded a goal kick about five yards back from midfield, and sophomore Guilherme Ribas kicked the ball directly into the goal, stunning the stands into silence and then making them erupt into cheers. The game remained close, with freshman Owen Philliber commanding the offense and sending the ball into the goal again in the sixty-fourth minute. Freshman Preston Weiner had the assist, moving the ball up the field and directing a pass through several defenders to set Philliber up.

Despite Fossil’s best efforts, Rocky took advantage of the number of players in the box to send the last goal of the game into the net in the sixty-ninth minute. There were too many players to see clearly, and both teams finished out the game without much action for the goalkeeper, the score still 2-2.

Suarez believes that the team has been improving because they “come to practice every day with the mindset to improve and work together.” He said that, “we let success be our noise, and are pursuing excellence today for tomorrow.” Fossil’s C team has a bye next week, but they’ll have four games starting the week of October 2. Come out and support your Sabercats, who’ll first be looking to continue their streak at Fort Collins High School on October 3.