In honor of the senior athletes, the athletic department and the leadership class will be hosting Senior Night for the boys’ and girls’ soccer team, Feb. 5 & 6. For each game, the FC Eagles will be facing the Minarets Mustangs on the north side field, starting at 3:30 p.m.

Though the games will officially begin at 3:30 p.m., all senior athletes will be honored at 3:15 p.m. by being introduced to the fans with a brief statement about themselves. The seniors will also be presented with a bouquet of flowers, which they will give to their mothers.

According to Athletic Director Mick Fuller, senior night provides an opportunity for the senior athletes to be recognized for all their commitment to the FC sports, along with promoting the school theme, “We Are One.”

“It is tradition to honor the senior athletes at their last home game,” Fuller said. “We acknowledge them for their dedication and the contributions they have made to their team and to FC sports. It is also important to support our athletes and demonstrate our school motto, “We Are One,” by encouraging them in their efforts. Senior acknowledgements are a time of celebration of what is best in FC athletics.”

Due to all the memories he has created over the past four years, co-captain Juan Ruelas feels that senior night will be filled with mixed emotions.

“I am looking forward to senior night because it’s my last home game and it is very emotional for me,” Ruelas said. “I have been part of this team since I was a freshman and I have a lot of memories of past seniors leaving and I just feel like it’s my time to leave the FC boys’ soccer legacy to the upcoming classmen.”

Despite not winning any league games, Ruelas remains positive about his final home game and hopes to break the losing streak by coming out with a win over the Mustangs.

“I hope that tomorrow we end with a win,” Ruelas said. “We haven’t won a league game in who knows how long and I’m just pumped to see that we might actually beat Minarets tomorrow since we already have one win against them. So I feel as if tomorrow we might break that curse.”

As a parent, Ann Orcutt, parent of senior Jenna Orcutt, believes senior night is important because it honors the upperclassmen’s participation in athletics. Though she looks forward to honoring her daughter, she maintains mixed emotions about the evening.

“It’s important to acknowledge the seniors’ participation, achievement and mentoring of the younger players,” Orcutt said. “And it is important to celebrate their moving on from high school, recognize their departure and express appreciation for them as they move forward, and that they will be missed. For me, it’s happy-sad. It is happy to think about all the wonderful friendships, experiences and fun Jenna has had at FCS, and it is sad that it’s coming to an end.”

Throughout the past four years, Ruelas has kept the same excitement about soccer and is intrigued by the sport overall.

“My favorite part of playing soccer is definitely the thrill one gets from it,” Ruelas said. “It’s so adrenaline laced and so full of excitement and I just love it. It’s so cool to see how one little touch or one little pass can dictate the final outcome of the game and it’s just an amazing sport that I love.

While playing in his last game closes one chapter of his life, Ruelas feels honored to have played with his team and wishes the best to those who continue to play after high school.

“It [soccer] is played all over the world and soccer is proved to be the most popular sport in the entire world, so I definitely feel honored as I leave this team, and leave the future of soccer to those who continue to play it even after high school. It is just an amazing sport,” Ruelas said.

For more sports articles, read the Feb. 4 article, Girls’ soccer sport shorts: Caruthers.