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
