Yuba City senior captain Gabby Rojo (10) goes to push the ball upfield against River Valley in the Lady Honkers’ 0-0 tie on Thursday, December 21. Photo by Steven Bryla

YUBA CITY, CA (MPG) - The Yuba City and River Valley girls’ soccer programs are both still winless in Capital Valley Conference play as the Thursday, December 21, frozen-like atmosphere match ended in a tie at 0.

Both teams had opportunities to score throughout the game, but nothing was able to break or find its way into the back of the net. Yuba City was able to control the ball in the second half a bit more than River Valley, but the main name of the game between the crosstown rivals was defense.

This game could be classified as a groundbreaker for the Lady Falcons program as this is the first non-loss to Yuba City in the last 10 matches in a five-year period.

River Valley Head Coach Meigan Soo told the Dispatch the game against the Lady Honkers was a step in the right direction.

“We had a strong start in the first half and we’re excited, we got tired in the second half,” Soo said.

Soo added that the depth in her bench is small, as they don’t have a ton of available reliefs on their sideline, but she is hopeful for more in the future in looking to add a junior varsity/freshman team.

“The girls went through the grind the last 15 minutes of the game tonight, and they showed a lot of grit,” Soo said.

Lady Falcons senior center back K’Lana Fujimoto and junior striker Clarissa Recendez expressed to the Dispatch how big of a jump and morale booster this was for the River Valley girls’ program.

 

“We completed a goal as a team and really gave them a run for their money,” Recendez said.

Moving forward for the Lady Falcons, Fujimoto and Recendez told the Dispatch that they look to continue playing as a cohesive unit and have fun with one another on the field.

Although it was a rivalry game, it also had its sweet moments postgame as rivals were able to hug and be friends again. 

Yuba City senior captain/forward Madeline Roy told the Dispatch that although it is friendly off the field, they put it aside while on the field and give it all they have.

“There are always moments where you’re on the field and going to joke, but we can set it aside for a match,” Roy said.

Both teams have this week off before they begin play again next week, as River Valley will go to play at Roseville on January 4, while Yuba City will host Sutter.