Colfax girls soccer opens with shutout wins over Oakmont and Placer

Two defending Sac-Joaquin section champions were in action Wednesday night as Colfax hosted rival Placer at Robert O. Marson Stadium for a girls soccer nonleague contest. The Falcons notched their second win of the season, blanking Placer 5-0 for a second consecutive shutout. Colfax blanked Oakmont 5-0 on Tuesday. "The girls are starting the season off playing at such a high level, so the key will be getting them to continue to grow throughout the season and not becoming stagnant," Colfax coach Kara Diederichs said. "We have to find ways in which they can continue to grow and improve their game." Colfax was elevated by the play of freshman forward Maya Smiley, who scored two goals and fired off 11 shots in the contest. Smiley, who is also a member of the varsity girls basketball team, has stepped into her roll well in the first two matches with three goals already. "She's a rough-and-tumble athlete that will do anything that's asked of her. She's super coordinated, has really good field awareness, and she plays much older than she is," Diederichs said, noting Smiley plays up an age level in club soccer. "She just has this no-nonsense attitude and shows up to play every day." The Falcons dominated possession and field position, as the Hillmen failed to get a shot on goal. Diederichs applauded her team's performance in all phases, noting that while both sides were missing a few key players, they showed their depth and consistency. After netting one goal in the first half, it was an offensive onslaught in the second as the Falcons scored four goals. Smiley was joined in scoring by older sister Sophia, who is a captain on this year's team as a sophomore. Also finding the back of the net were Emma Menth and Kaylee Fore. Diederichs was pleased with her team's performance against a bigger school and said it helped set the tone for what promises to be another strong season. "We are still young, which is huge. We have a lot of super strong juniors, sophomores and freshmen, and we have seniors that have been in the program for years now that are huge contributors as well," Diederichs said. While youth can signify inexperience for many teams, Diederichs feels it's their advantage, saying, "They just play with that extra energy of the youth. This group has put in the work over the years before high school and it's starting to pay off." The Falcons host El Dorado on Monday, Dec. 4. Asked what the key is for making another run at a section championship and NorCal title, Diederichs said, "We have to stay healthy. We don't have a big roster, but luckily we're super deep. Even with that, staying healthy is going to be key for us to win games."