Schools

Four Rivers girls soccer closing in on perfect record

The girls soccer team at Four Rivers Community School through last week held the only perfect record in Oregon among all high school girls soccer teams. The Lady Falcons are 13-0 after defeating Riverside 4-3 on Saturday, Oct. 19.

Getting to a perfect record has been a long time coming, according to Marcus  Zacarias, head coach of the Four Rivers soccer team. One of the smallest districts in the county, with just over 350 students, the high school has about 100 students enrolled.

Zacarias and his assistant coach, Gisela Lopez – players refer to her as Coach G ­– ­ established the boys’ and girls’ soccer programs at Four Rivers.

Zacarias said that when he and Lopez started the programs he first coached the boys team. Later, he took the helm of the girls teams, he said.

The Lady Falcons put up two losing seasons before stringing together winning seasons. In 2022, the Four Rivers girls program made their first postseason run but fell to the No.1 Catlin Gabel Eagles in the second round of the playoffs.

Since then, Zacarias has put together a more complex offensive strategy with the team passing the ball more and keeping opposing defenses on their toes. With experienced players that have competed together since before they were freshmen, the results are paying off.

Along with the strategy shift and experience on the field, the Falcons have put in the time, from conditioning camps to off-season clinics to sharpen their skills. 

A key has been Olivia Chavez, the senior goalkeeper, who has only allowed opposing teams to score on her six times all season.

Meanwhile, the offense continues to dominate other teams, with Four Rivers winning their games by multiple goals.

Senior Ariana Abigail Nuñez said the team’s chemistry and hard work are paying off at just the right time.

“We’re finally piecing together everything we know and putting it to practice and our record is showing that,” she said.

Nuñez said she hopes the team only gets better to make a stronger run at a state title.

Before, Zacarias said, the Falcons played with an “underdog” mentality. He said that with a perfect record, the team has shed that, but that ethos still exists among the squad.

Now, he said, Four Rivers is the team to beat. Zacarias said that’s a dynamic he’s been working to get in front of as his team’s win column has stacked up this season.

Before each game, he tells his players, “They want to beat us, they want to be the first in the league” to beat the team with the only perfect record in Oregon.

He said that with two more contests left on the schedule, the Lady Falcons are prepping for a near-certain postseason run against teams they have yet to face this season. The playoff schedule will be posted shortly after the regular season.

He said the team is continuing to practice and grow.

“I remember when we couldn’t do this,” he said, “and now look at us.”

The Falcons play their final home game of the regular season, facing Irrigon on Thursday, Oct. 24, at 3:30 p.m.

The team

Player/number            Class

Olivia Chavez (00)       senior 

Lacatia Mason (1)       senior

Leah Benson (2)          senior 

Ariel Martinez (4)        junior 

Karen Cortes Sanchez (5)        junior 

Ariana Abigail Nuñez (Abby) (6)         senior 

Kayla Vera (7)  senior 

Hermione Villa (11)     sophomore    

Elliana Madera (13)    sophomore    

Adriana Chavez (15)    senior 

Dalia Lopez Garcia(16)            freshman        

Sophia DeLucio (17)    freshman        

Catalina Carlson (18)  freshman        

Acela Silva (21)            freshman        

Mia Clayton (22)         senior 

Alyson Hernandez(23) freshman                    

Aniiah Zacarias (25)    sophomore

Head coach: Marcus Zacarias

Assistant coach: Gisela Lopez

Marcus Zacarias, head coach of the Four Rivers girls soccer team and his assistant, Gisela Lopez , established the boys and girls soccer programs at Four Rivers. (The Enterprise/STEVEN MITCHELL)