Falcons upset by CRC

The FLC women had never lost two consecutive conference matches in the seven-year history of the program, but that stat came to an end on Tuesday afternoon at Falcon Stadium when the upstart Cosumnes River Hawks downed the Falcons, 2-0.  Coming off last Friday's narrow 3-2 loss to Big 8 leader Sierra, the Falcons were expected to defend the home turf and re-establish their winning ways.  It certainly looked that way in the opening half against the Hawks, as the Falcons spent most of the first 20 minutes in front of the Hawk's goal.  Somehow, the Hawks managed to fend off every attack and went into the halftime break tied 0-0.  The second half saw a different CRC team take the field, as they seemed to win every 50/50 ball and controlled possession a majority of the time.  When CRC's Obioma Omejeme lofted a shot over Falcon goalkeeper Hunter Casperson 10 minutes into the half, one could sense the tide turning.  The Hawks, now buoyed by their 1-0 lead, were playing even more inspired than before.  Still, the Falcons kept fighting for the tying goal but were repeatedly denied by the Hawks' goalkeeper and defenders.  When CRC added to their lead with a second goal by Omejeme in the 78^th minute, the Falcons' body language told the story:  this was not to be their day.  When the final whistle sounded, the Hawks had every reason to celebrate; they'd toppled the #4 ranked team in California on their own field.

With a Big 8 record of 5-2-1, the Falcons – now in third place behind Delta and Sierra - can still make a run at the Big 8 title, but will need to improve their play to do so.  They'll begin that journey on Friday afternoon when they take on undefeated Delta (11-0-2 overall, 6-0-1 in Big 8) in Stockton.