BOYS’ SOCCER SPORT SHORTS, 2010-11–
(Latest boys’ soccer shorts will be at the top of the section. Scroll down to check out past results. Tournament games do not count toward win/loss record. Visit the Sports Section for boys’ soccer features).

Be sure to visit the 2010-11 boys’ soccer schedule, home page, roster page, or check out Maxpreps.com. FC finished 4-16-3 overall and 0-8-0 in the West Sequoia League.

BOYS’ SOCCER, 2010-11

SEASON END

CARUTHERS OVERPOWERS EAGLES–Feb. 11
The Eagles traveled to play the Caruthers Blue Raiders for their final game of the season. The Blue Raiders previously escaped with a 2-1 against FC, Jan. 25, so the Eagles hoped for some redemption, but failed to earn the win as they lost 9-0, Feb. 11.

Junior keeper Josh hopper feels there is not to much to say about the loss except a lack of stability in the defense and midfield due to injury.

“2-1 to 9-0 seems pretty crazy and like ‘what happened?’,” Hopper said. “A big part of it is [junior] Sean Carter was out and so their was major lack of direction in the middle of the field. Then with Mitch Weibert [junior] also out and when Austin Rurik [junior] got hurt in the second half, we had little direction in the back of the field.”

Despite going 0-8 in league, the Eagles took second place at the 21st Annual Garces Holiday Tournament for the first time, Dec. 17-18. Hopper says that after the pre-season he had high hopes for league, but with the loss of freshman goalie Elijah Beukers and injuries it all went down hill.

“In the beginning of the season I was excited because we were learning sort of a new style of play,” Hopper said. “The first couple of tournaments were kind of rough, but by Garces we pulled it together and I was seeing offense working and defense were becoming more and more solid. After Garces I was pretty pumped and I hoped to beat Fowler and Parlier this year, but then it didn’t really happen.”

Head coach Matt Markarian says he looks forward to next year as this year there was no seniors on the team and he will have many returning players.

“Considering we had no seniors our season was not bad, and combine that with the exceptionally strong teams in our league, it was not a bad season,” Markarian said. “I look forward to having a strong season next year. The return of 4 year starters Sean Carter, Austin Rurik and Josh Hopper will be the foundation to a playoff push next year.”

FOWLER COMES OUT ON TOP AGAINST FC–Feb. 10
The Eagles traveled to take on the Fowler Redcats for the second time and once again fell behind and lost, 4-0, Feb. 10.

Assistant coach Greg Hessler says he has seen vast development among the team and it showed in the game despite the loss.

“There has been a huge improvement from previous games until now,” Hessler said. “We are participating in the play more is the difference. We are getting to the ball quicker and creating more pressure on the other team.”

Freshman Chris Chon felt though that if they exhibited more composure when they received the ball, there could have been a difference in the game.

We were just getting the ball and kicking it and not looking to pass and distribute,” Chon said. “So we were playing defense the whole time. If we slow down and pass and go, pass and go, it’ll be a lot better.”

The final game of the Eagles’ season will be at Caruthers, Feb. 11, whom they previously lost 2-1 to in the last ten minutes of the game, Jan. 25. Chon says that with their extra subs they will be able to keep their intensity throughout the entire game and pull out a win.

“Last time we were actually winning 1-0 at the beginning,” Chon said, “but lost 2-1 at the end because we were all getting tired and the midfield couldn’t get back. We’ll do better this time because we have more subs and we won’t get as tired.”

The Eagles will next travel to play Caruthers for the final game of the season, Feb. 11.

FC SHUTOUT AT TRANQUILLITY–Feb. 8
The Eagles traveled to play the Tranquillity Tigers for a non-league match and only had one shot on goal as they lost 9-0, Feb. 8.

Junior forward Tae Min Oh says the Tigers controlled the majority of the game, putting up shot after shot on keeper Josh Hopper, ’12.

“They’re passing and shooting was amazing,” Oh said. “We didn’t mark their attackers and we just couldn’t win the ball. We were scared of their playing and we needed to be aggressive.”

Oh hopes that with their last two games he personally can play with a good touch and the team play with intensity.

“I want to just have a good pass, make a chance to get a goal and be more aggressive,” Oh said. “As a team we need to work hard and be responsible for marking your own guy and defend.”

The Eagles will next travel to play Fowler, Feb. 10.

EAGLES FALL TO COWBOYS–Feb. 4
The Eagles hosted the Riverdale Cowboys for their last home game of the season and despite having substitutes, FC still lost 6-1, Feb. 4.

Marking back Scott Jennings, ’12, says that he had hopes prior to the game of pulling out a win, but as the game began his view changed.

“I thought we were going to do better because we had subs and more energy because we would sub out throughout the game and be able to play better,” Jennings said. “When they scored I just thought ‘oh great it’s gonna be the same as last time’. They’re just a really good team no matter the circumstances.”

As one of the new players to come out, Josh Grinage, ’12, says that for it being his first time playing structured soccer it was enjoyable despite the loss.

“I’ve never really played an organized game of soccer before, but I liked it,” Grinage said. “Before playing in the games I didn’t really like it that much because I thought it was boring, but once you play it it’s a lot more fun. In a way the ability to go out there and play. You play you’re heart out and even if you do lose, if you give it you’re all, you will have fun.”

With three games left on the road, Jennings says that they have potential to overcome Caruthers for their last game as they previously lost, 2-1, Jan. 25.

“Last year, Tranquillity was pretty tough because it was raining and stuff so I kind of expect the same result as last year, but we’ll see,” Jennings said. “Against Caruthers we’ll have a better chance because last time we just had absolutely no energy at the end and could have won.”

PARLIER SHUTS OUT FC, 4-0–Feb. 3
For the rescheduled game of the cancellation on Jan. 13, the Eagles hosted the Parlier Panthers after just losing 5-0, Feb. 1. The Panthers came out on to again, winning, 4-0, Feb. 3.

FC recruited nine more players to finish the season, making a squad of 17 as junior Mitch Weibert and Sean Carter are out due to injury. Despite this Parlier knocked in a goal part way through the first half on a penalty kick and the once more to end the half, 2-0. In the second half, the Panthers scored two more goals, one off of a penalty kick again to end the game, 4-0.

As a new player, freshman David Taylor intended to come out in the beginning of the season, but had bad grades and was unable to play. Now though, he hopes to keep his grades up so he can participate in the next season.

“I really miss soccer and the only reason I didn’t start from the beginning was because my mom wouldn’t let me and I had bad grades in math,” Taylor said. “It was really hard going out there not knowing everyone and tough running up and down the field against this good. Now I actually do want to play next year.”

Junior Hieu Le says that with the new players they will be able to improve each game and potentially have the opportunity to win a game in league.

“I think we could have had a chance to win because the first time we played them we ran out of people, but yesterday we had lots of people so it was kind of fun,” Le said. “The new kids don’t know what the plays are and they kind of were confused, but if we know each other better it’ll be better. I think we have a chance to win today because we have new people and we know each other a little better.”

The Eagles will next host Riverdale for the final home game of the season, Feb. 4.

EAGLES OVERWHELMED AWAY AT PARLIER–Feb. 1
The Eagles traveled to face off against the Parlier Panthers after coming off of a narrow 2-1 loss to Caruthers, Jan. 25. FC hoped to pull out a first league win, but the Panthers had their own incentives as it was their senior night and won the game 5-0, Feb. 1.

Sophomore first year varsity athlete, Dominic Mendoza says in their previous game against Caruthers, they came out with intensity, but against Parlier it was a different story. They were lacking fervency and need to work on moving the ball around the field.

“I think we connected a lot better against Caruthers than we did against Parlier,” Mendoza said. “Maybe the home field advantage helped a little bit because we had our own home crowd and we were just more ready for the game. We just got to get used to the fact that we’re a young team and that we really need to start passing the ball better and opening it to the wings with through balls and stuff.”

Assistant coach Greg Hessler felt his team let Parlier walk over them and control the game without facing much of a fight from the Eagles.

“We need to understand that working hard and playing well are two different things,” Hessler said. “Most times we were too afraid to challenge for the ball as we got super lazy and allowed them to dominate us all over the field. The difference between the two games was the level of control; we had absolutely no control in the game today.”

The Eagles will next host Parlier at home for their rescheduled game, Feb. 3.

FC AT FOWLER, CANCELED–Jan. 28
The Eagles were going to travel to take on the Fowler Redcats, but due to FC players injuries and illness, the game was canceled, Jan. 28 and rescheduled to Feb. 10.

The Eagles will next travel to play Parlier on Feb. 1.

CARUTHERS FACILITATES COMEBACK WIN AGAINST FC–Jan. 25
The Eagles hosted the Caruthers Blue Raiders for their second home game of the season. Junior Tae Min Oh scored early on in the first half for the Eagles and they held their 1-0 lead until the last ten minutes of the game. Caruthers pushed players up and knocked in two goals, winning, 2-1, Jan. 25.

Outside midfielders, Zed Fries, ’12, says overall they worked well together, but by the end of the game began to run out of steam.

“We were playing really good and were playing as a team, but it’s just the fact that we have such small numbers that we’re getting wiped out by the end of the game,” Fries said. “At the end they started forcing numbers and almost every player was forward. It was just so overwhelming that we couldn’t get the ball in their half.”

In the last 15 minutes Mitch Weibert, ’12, took a blow to his ankle and had to be taken out, which left the Eagles with no subs. Shortly after that, the Blue Raiders scored their first goal to tie the game. Then, junior captain, Sean Carter, went down with a hurt knee and Weibert had to go back in; Caruthers then scored once again, 2-1.

Fries feels they have a good chance at taking a win in the next few games if they work up their stamina to last the entire game.

“If we get more endurance from practice and stuff,” Fries said, “we’ll probably pull out a win against these better teams because we almost had it, but we kind of just lost it.”

The Eagles will next travel to play the Fowler Redcats, Jan. 28.

FC VS. TRANQUILLITY CANCELED–Jan. 21
The Eagles’ home match against Tranquillity was canceled due to fog, Jan. 21 and the rescheduled date is unknown as of Jan. 21.

The Eagles will next host Caruthers at home, Jan. 25.

COWBOYS SHUTOUT EAGLES–Jan. 18
The Eagles traveled to take on the Riverdale Cowboys, for their second match in league, but FC failed to keep up with Riverdale’s pace as they lost, 6-0, Jan. 18.

With Riverdale’s constant offensive attack, FC was forced to play defense the majority of the game. Junior keeper, Josh Hopper, who put up numerous saves throughout the whole game, says their defensive backs had one of their best games, but some of the goals could not be helped.

“Our defense played pretty solid the whole game,” Hopper said. “Mitch [Weibert, ’12] was doing very well, he had his best game, Scotty [Jennings, ’12] was solid, Austin [Rurik, ’12] was doing well and so was Kevin [Thao, ’13]. But with that much exposure in the back and having to play defense all day, shots are bound to go in.”

With the Eagles upcoming home game against Tranquility, Hopper says the main concept they need to improve upon, is winning balls in the center of the field.

“Whenever Austin would kick a goal kick or I would do a punt, we could not win the ball in the middle and I think that’s one of the things we need to work on,” Hopper said. “It’s pretty much, they get the ball, they dribble up the field, they shoot, it goes out or I block it, but it’s just a cycle. If there’s like a 100 of those cycles in a game, six of those are bound to go in.”

The Eagles will next host Tranquillity for a non-league game, Jan. 21.

FC VS. PARLIER CANCELED–Jan. 13
The Eagles were planned to host the Parlier Panthers at home, but Parlier sent their girls’ team instead of the boys and so the game was canceled. The rescheduled date is unknown as of Jan. 14.

The Eagles will next travel to play Riverdale, Jan. 18.

REDCATS DOMINATE EAGLES, 5-0–Jan. 11
For the first West Sequoia League game, the Eagles hosted the Fowler Redcats. Even though FC had earlier tied them, 1-1, in the Fowler Tournament, Dec. 8, the Redcats blew by FC, winning 5-0, Jan. 11.

Freshman Chris Chon, who plays left midfield, says they came into the game rather lackadaisical, which led to poor passing and communication.

“Since we won our last four games, we let down a little bit and were kind of too prideful,” Chon said. “We weren’t passing that much, and once we got the ball, we just kicked it out there. Our positioning wasn’t that great and we weren’t talking, so because of that we weren’t passing that great.”

Head coach Matt Markarian felt his team improved throughout the game, but says they need to play their best every game to be a threat in their league.

“It was a tough game,” Markarian said. “The first half we lacked intensity and effort, but the second half was much better as we put together some chances and played at a higher level. Our league is going to be tough and we need to be ready to play every day.”

The Eagles will next host Parlier at home, Jan. 14.

EAGLES, MINARETS, 1-1 TIE–Jan. 6
The Eagles traveled to take on the Minarets Mustangs for the second time, as they previously won at home, 6-1, Dec. 14, but the Mustangs forced this game to end in a, 1-1, draw, Jan. 6.

Junior right marking back, Scott Jennings, says he attributes the tie to a lack of practice over break and other assorted team ailments.

“I think it was because we changed our positions around, we didn’t have any subs,” Jennings said, “we hadn’t practiced too much over break and hadn’t had a game in a while. We just need to get back into it.”

Head coach Matt Markarian says he was not too worried about how his team played, but showed more interest towards, keeping everyone healthy for their league opener against Fowler, Jan. 11.

“I was more concerned with staying healthy for league games,” Markarian said. “With 11 available players a tie was an acceptable result. I am glad we are reasonably healthy for the league season that starts Tuesday.”

Minarets Maxpreps site not published.

The Eagles will next host Fowler for the first game of League play, Jan. 11.

FC VS. DOS PALOS CANCELLED–Jan. 4
Due to the Eagles’ field being flooded, the match against Dos Palos was cancelled, Jan. 4.

The Eagles will next travel to play Minarets, Jan. 6.

21st ANNUAL GARCES HOLIDAY SOCCER FESTIVAL–Dec. 17-18
EAGLES CONTINUE WIN STREAK AT GARCES–Dec. 17-18
The Eagles traveled to Bakersfield for the21st Annual 2010 Garces Holiday Soccer Festival in Bakersfield, Dec. 17-18. They ended up going, 3-0, and clinched second place overall in the Bronze Division as Coast Union took first by one point.

FC first faced off against Garces’ JV Rams and struck early as Zed Fries, ’12, knocked a goal in. The Eagles kept up the offensive attack, defeating the Rams, 4-1, Dec. 17.

The next morning the Eagles came back out to take on the Kern Valley Broncos. Once again FC put up an early goal, by Tae Min Oh, ’12, but Kern Valley soon answered with a goal of their own, making it, 1-1, going into the second half. However, the Eagles rallied to punch in three more goals to win, 4-1, Dec. 18.

If FC was to win their next and final game against the Desert Scorpions, they would potentially win the tournament in their division. With the rain coming down, the two teams began the game and FC soon knocked in a goal as captain Sean Carter, ’12, received a throw in, dribbled up the field and took a shot on goal. The Scorpion’s keeper blocked the shot, but Chris Chon, ’14, was there for the rebound to shoot the ball for a goal, 1-0.

About ten minutes into the second half Oh chipped a goal in on a corner to extend FC’s lead to 2-0. Desert pushed players up to put pressure on the Eagles defense and took numerous shots that nearly made it by goalie Josh Hopper, ’12, who was in Elijah Beukers, ’14, place as he was unable to attend the tournament. However, with the help of captain Austin Rurik, ’12, at sweeper, Hopper kept every ball in front of him, keeping the Scorpions scoreless, 2-0, Dec. 18.

Overall, the Eagles took second place in their division for the first time in FC boys’ soccer school history.

The Eagles will next host Dos Palos at home, Jan. 4.

FC TRIUMPHS OVER MINARETS–Dec. 14
The Eagles hosted the Minarets Mustangs for the second home game of the season and struck early as they swept the Mustangs, 6-1, for their first win of the season, Dec. 14.

FC was led by junior captains Austin Rurik who had five goals and Sean Carter with one goal. In the first half, the Eagles led, 3-0, but on a free kick just outside the 18′ Minarets knocked a goal in past keeper Elijah Beukers, ’14. However, FC kept up the offensive attack with three more goals in the second half, 6-1.

Marking back Mitch Weibert, ’12, says that the previous day in practice the team came out apathetic and not exhibiting much effort. As a result, assistant coach Greg Hessler ended the practice with conditioning. Weibert felt that because of this the team had a different attitude in the game.

“I think Greg [Hessler] definitely motivated us by making us run and condition for not trying hard,” Weibert said. “Personally, I decided that I wasn’t going to just let it be the same for me and so I just talked throughout the game and made sure to remember what he has coached us on and to hustle for everything. So I definitely think that making us run or punishing us for not putting forth effort, definitely motivated me and the team.”

Hessler says he hopes the team will take this game and improve upon it and then carry their energy into the Garces Holiday Tournament, Dec. 17-18.

“The game was a good turnout for us and I think we got to be a little bit happier after this game as opposed to the previous games of the season,” Hessler said. “We were also able to see what we could do as a team when we started working the ball around like we should have been all along. Now its time to hit this Garces tournament hard while we have momentum.”

Minarets Maxpreps soccer site not published.

The Eagles will next travel to play in the Garces Holiday Tournament, Dec. 17-18. Schedule unknown as of Dec. 15.

FOWLER TOURNAMENT, Dec. 8-9
EAGLES FALL IN TWO LAST GAMES–Dec. 9
The Eagles traveled to Fowler for potentially the last day of the Fowler Tournament. If FC won their games they would move on to the playoffs on Saturday, Dec. 11, but came up short against the Liberty Hawks, losing, 3-0, and the Immanuel Eagles, 2-1, Dec. 9.

Junior sweeper Josh Hopper, says that they caught on to being over confident prior to the upcoming games which payed a toll on their play against Liberty.

“We started off playing at a decent level, but it just kind of went down from there,” Hopper said. “I think when you go in thinking you’re going to beat somebody, you don’t have an urgency to win and we didn’t have that urgency to win and play hard. And since we didn’t play hard, our touches, passes and runs suffered.”

For their next game, they took on Immanuel and struck first as Austin Rurik, ’12, scored, 1-0. However, Immanuel soon regrouped and knocked in a goal of their own, 1-1.

FC had several more chances to score as Dominic Mendoza, ’13, made numerous shots on goal, but was unable to capitalize. Immanuel however early in the second half scored and kept their lead to win the game, 2-1.

Head coach Matt Markarian says that despite a rough day he still felt that they made progress as a team.

“I was encouraged by the play of Dominic Mendoza, he had several good scoring opportunities and was a valuable member of our midfield,” Markarian said. “Austin Rurik continues to lead us offensively and his leadership has been outstanding. Sean Carter was limited by a bum ankle but provided a huge lift with his effort and moxie, but ultimately we continue to grow as a team.”

The Eagles will next host Minarets at home, Dec. 14. (Minarets Maxpreps soccer site not published.)

FC TIES FOWLER, NARROW LOSS TO FIREBAUGH–Dec. 8
The Eagles traveled to Fowler, for the first day of the Fowler Tournament, and faced off against the Fowler Redcats and then the Firebaugh Eagles, Dec. 8.

FC’s first game was against Fowler and although the Redcats capitalized with a goal early, the Eagles answered back late in the second half with a goal by captain Austin Rurik, ’12. Time soon finished and the game ended in a, 1-1, tie.

Junior Zed Fries says the team came out sluggish in the first half, but at half time realized their mistakes and eliminated them in the second.

“The first half we started out kind of shabby, but in the second half we pulled it together more,” Fries said. “We started getting passes through, jockeying on defense. During the halftime when we talked about it, we realized we weren’t doing what we were supposed to be doing, so we fixed it.”

After a two hour break, FC suited up to take on Firebaugh. It proved to be an even match as the game remained scoreless until the middle of the second half when a Firebaugh forward chipped freshman goalie, Elijah Beukers to score, 1-0. The Eagles failed to put up a goal despite several chances as they lost, 1-0.

“The Firebaugh game was a lot better than our first,” Fries said. “They just had that one lucky goal that should not have gone in. We did a lot better on defense and offensively we started getting the ball up the field, so that was a plus.”

Head coach Matt Markarian feels his young team played well and made many improvements from previous games. He also hopes that in the next two matches they will continue to work together as a team and hopefully pull off a win.

“I feel we made some enormous steps defensively,” Markarian said. “Tomorrow I hope that we can get a win or two, but most importantly we continue to get better and stay healthy. We will continue to emphasize defense and look to move up in our bracket to receive a more favorable seeding for the finals.”

The Eagles will next play in the Fowler Tournament against Liberty and Immanuel, Dec. 9.

EAGLES SHUTOUT BY SIERRA–Dec. 6
FC previously faced off against the Sierra Chieftains in the Sierra Tounament, but lost, 2-0, Dec. 4. Sierra once again took control of the game and defeated the Eagles, 4-0, Dec. 6.

Junior Tae Min Oh says he came into the game, expecting to pull off a win, but as the team became tired they failed to keep up with Sierra’s pace.

“I thought we were going to win,” Oh said. “The first half our passing was really good and we had a lot of chances to score a goal. In the second half though we started to get tired and weren’t working hard so we ended up losing the game.”

The Eagles will next participate in the Fowler Tournament and play Fowler and then Firebaugh, Dec. 8.

SIERRA TOURNAMENT, Dec. 3-4
FC FINISHES SIERRA TOURNAMENT, 0-3-1–Dec. 3-4
The Eagles traveled to Sierra participate in the annual Sierra Tournament, and took on four teams in two days, but failed to put up any wins as they went, 0-3-1.

The first game was against the Yosemite Badgers, but the Eagles came out flat as Yosemite scored within the first five minutes. The Badgers kept up their offensive attack and won, 6-1, Dec. 3.

FC’s second match-up was against the Kerman Lions and the Eagles kept the game scoreless until the end of the first half when Kerman scored, 1-0. The Lions then scored once again to win the game, 2-0, Dec. 3.

Junior captain Austin Rurik feels like the new players were able to settle their nerves and contribute to the games.

“I thought the new guys did really well,” Rurik said. “They were able to calm down very quickly after the first game. We were able to bring together better plays each game.”

For the second day of the tournament, FC took on the Sierra Chieftains and McClane’s JV. The Eagles first lost however to the Chieftains, 2-0. Then played McClane for the final game.

McClane scored first, 1-0, but the Eagles answered back with two goals of their own by juniors Zedekiah Fries and Tae Min Oh in the second half, 2-1. However, McClane put up one more goal to tie the game and, ending the game, 2-2, Dec. 4.

Rurik says the team progressed throughout the tournament, getting better each game and also thinks they can be a competitive threat to their opponents.

“Our team did very well for the number of days we had to practice,” Rurik said. “We were able to string together passes and scored more goals in this tournament than we did by this time last year. I’m looking forward to a fun season. It looks like we are going to have fun. We won’t be the best team, but we will be a competitive team.”

The Eagles will next host Sierra at home, Dec. 6.

SIERRA OPENER CANCELLED–Nov. 30
The boys opening game against Sierra was canceled as not enough players were available for the match, Nov. 30.

The team currently has 11 players on the team but needs subs in order to play a match. The squad will continue to practice however as a couple of potential players have indicated interest. Please contact coach Matt Markarian at 559.709.4392 for more information.

For more information, check out the Boys’ soccer sport shorts, 2009-10.