Fallon senior Maddie Alegre dribbles during a match earlier this season. The Lady Wave host Truckee in a critical Northern Division I-A match today at 4 p.m. at the Edward Arciniega Complex.
They may be the surprise team of the year.
The Fallon girls soccer team is rolling and if off to one of its best starts in recent memory. With a 6-0 pasting at Sparks on Tuesday, the Lady Wave improved to 6-1 in the Northern Division I-A and 9-1-1 overall.
The victory keeps Fallon tied for second with Truckee (6-1-0, 18 points) and one point behind league leader South Tahoe (6-0-1). Fallon and Truckee, though, meet today at 4 p.m. at the Edward Arciniega Complex. Fallon continues league play at 4 p.m. Tuesday at home against Dayton.
What’s surprising about this year’s club, though, is the maturity of a young roster. Nine players are sophomores, seven are seniors and only two juniors make up coach Kelly Spicer’s club.
The sophomore class, though, has taken its cue from senior captains Maddie Alegre, Monica Mills and Sam Burton. Mills and Alegre lead the team with nine and eight goals, respectively, while Burton’s defensive leadership has helped Fallon only allow eight scores on the season.
In addition to Burton, senior goalkeeper Erin Nelson has tallied 69 saves and posted seven shutouts.
The rookies, meanwhile, have pulled their weight. Becca Mills, younger sister of Monica, has tallied five goals and three assits, while Mayzie Myers and K Davis have each netted three scores and C Sweeney has chipped in with two.
Their continual development has kept Fallon in a battle with the two mountain powers for first place.
But the Lady Wave is in for a test today. Truckee averages 4.2 goals per game and are led by Marcelle Reynaud and Kaylee Neill, who have scored nine and seven goals, respectively.
In addition, Fallon must mark up speedster Quinn Parker (three goals, five assits), who took third in last year’s 200-meter and won the 2012 100-meter state title.
Like Fallon, the Wolverines’ lone league loss is at the feet of South Tahoe. The winner of this match, though, will put some distance between their opposition and keep pace with the Vikings.
Fallon boys fall to Sparks
The Fallon boys soccer team was shutout, 5-0, by Sparks on Tuesday at the Edward Arciniega Complex.
The Greenwave visit first-place Truckee at 4 p.m. today. The Wolverines lead the Northern Division I-A with 19 points (6-0-1), followed by Sparks (6-1-0, 18), South Tahoe (6-1-0, 18) and Fallon (3-3-1, 10).
The Wave hit the pitch again on Tuesday at Dayton (0-7-0, 0).