Tuesday night’s varsity girls soccer match featuring the Fremont Firebirds and MacDonald Condors was a clash of two teams in very different circumstances.
For Fremont, this season feels like a culmination of years of building blocks reaching the year where everything comes together. With the 5-0 victory, the Firebirds improve to 4-1-1 in league and 8-2-1 overall. The Firebirds are led by a core group that features seven seniors.
On the other side of the pitch, MacDonald has zero seniors, as the school’s oldest students are from the 2026 junior class. For the Condors, there were certainly bright spots despite a lopsided shutout loss. Multiple players put on impressive displays with the ball, even though the team didn’t find the back of the net.
“I think we played pretty well, better the second half than the first,” chimed MacDonald junior Kassandra Guerrero. “I feel like we played with more energy in the second half and we weren’t as down about the goals that had been let in.”
Only one of the five goals that the Condors conceded in this contest came in the second half. In said second half, one of MacDonald’s most impressive players was sophomore winger Arliee Cervantes. Playing on the left side, Cervantes was up and down the pitch from 10-yard line to 10-yard line and beat opponents one-on-one multiple times.
“I think we played aggressive and everybody played their best,” remarked Cervantes. “We tried as hard as we could in this one, despite our different skill levels compared to some of these older teams.”
Cervantes wasn’t the only lowerclassman who stood out for the Condors. Freshman center back Skyler De’arman caught up to one of the Firebirds from behind, denying what looked like a dangerous attack with impressive speed and strength as she shouldered her opponent off the ball.
“She’s absolutely incredible,” beamed Condors Head Coach Brittney Codera when asked about De’arman. “She is a freshman and we heard through the grapevine, some of our PE teachers, about her talent and her speed, and it has been nothing short of impressive this entire season. She’s been a core for us on that back line.”
While the Condors are at the very beginning of their development, the Firebirds are much closer to a finished product. Fremont is building off a strong season last year and has improved upon that record this season.
“I think our team is looking better this year. I think we have more potential than last year,” chimed senior captain Sofia Haitz, who scored the fifth Fremont goal of the night. “I think our struggles have always been finishing off the season strong, so I’m really excited to start the second half of the season and start playing schools for the second time to see how we’ve grown.”
“I think every year we have gotten a little bit better,” echoed fellow senior captain Rylan Cashman who scored all four of Fremont’s first half goals. “We have a really strong senior group this year and I know we all want to go to CCS; we want to try and win league.”