3-time section champion Colfax girls reloaded

It will be hard to replicate the run the Colfax High School girls soccer team has been on in the last three years. Since 2021, the Falcons boast a record of 70-7-3 with three Sac-Joaquin Section championships, a CIF NorCal Regional championship appearance and two NorCal semifinals. The Falcons haven't lost a league contest since January 2019 and this year, they are reloaded and expect to be hanging more banners in the gym when all is said and done. Coach Kara Diederichs says the high expectations don't just come from her but the players themselves as they still feel they could have performed better the last three years. "Their expectations for themselves are to win another section title and they're not going to be satisfied with anything less, which is a tough task," Diederichs said. "Beyond that, they have not been satisfied with the three section titles. They've been disappointed with their performance in the state tournament. It's another tall order, but anything less than a NorCal title is a disappointment in their eyes." Diederichs says there are positives and negatives to the girls holding themselves to such a high standard, noting that while it is nice to have players that want to win no matter what, she also wants them to enjoy the journey and celebrate the success they've had. "It's a blessing and a curse to have a group this competitive because I want them to celebrate who they are, but they do that on the daily," Diederichs said. "They celebrate what they have and what they've accomplished. But part of what makes them so good is their crazy competitive nature and nothing less than everything is satisfactory to them." Kaia Diedierchs, Maya Smiley, Emma Menth and Kaylee Fore accounted for 83 of Colfax's 131 goals and 36 of 103 assists last season. The Falcons also bring back their entire starting defensive line and only graduated three players. "As a coach, it's amazing. It makes my job pretty darn easy that I have most of my starting roster back," Diederichs said. "It gives them a lot of confidence going into this season, but it challenges me with providing them games that are going to prepare them for the postseason. So we've kind of packed our nonleague schedule as much as we can without wearing them out." There will be a new keeper in net for the Falcons in Millie Katzeff. While this will be her first varsity experience, Diederichs has confidence in her and says it makes it easier to have a strong defense in front of her. "She was our JV goalie last year, so she's not completely new to the program and she knows a lot of the girls and plays with them in the offseason," Diederichs said. "The goal is definitely to get her worked into the starting lineup and make her feel comfortable. But my expectation for my back line every game is to allow four shots or less, which is totally reasonable." Colfax opens its season at Liberty Ranch on Monday and at Dixon on Wednesday.