Strong defense kept the Lady Hornets in the game, while an 8th minute goal proved to be enough for the Chargers.

After being thumped by Cypress 6-0 in an early season match up, the Lady Hornets were confident coming into their final game of the season after riding a two-game win streak.

Although confident to everyone in attendance, this game had all the makings of a blowout for the Lady Hornets early on.

A goal in the 8th minute by Cypress forward Karla Lopez put the Chargers up 1-0 and could have emotionally buried Fullerton. But the Lady Hornets persevered and the defense stepped up, refusing to allow another goal for the next 82 minutes.

The Lady Hornets had trouble getting through the Charger defense for most of the game, but late in the second half they were able to find some openings and gave themselves some chances.

“I think we had our chances,” said Head Coach Pam Lewin. “In the 80th minute, I think Madison Wells had a chance to tie it up, but we put a lot of pressure on them, so that was nice.”

In the 80th minute, FC forward Amalia Serna sent a nice pass to a streaking Wells, who broke away and took a shot at the Cypress goal. Running full speed and in stride, Wells unleashed a kick that sailed just wide right off the goal and was tipped out of bounds by Charger keeper Paulina Serna.

The Lady Hornets would take three consecutive corner kicks, but would come up empty thanks to strong defensive work around the box from the Chargers.

Cypress would protect its lone goal and ride out their 1-0 victory to end the Lady Hornet’s season.

While it seemed like the Lady Hornet’s season ended on a sour note, Lewin was proud of the season her team and coaching staff put together.

“One of my assistant coaches said it’s too bad we can’t have them for four years, but we only get them for two,” said Lewin. “It’s really kind of a neat thing to see the growth that happens for the players throughout the season.”

Lewin mentioned that during the season, her team suffered a few unfortunate injuries and dealt with quite a bit of adversity, but was proud of the way her team stepped up and played hard along the way.

“It was one of those teams that battled until the 90th minute and never gave up,” said Lewin.

The Lady Hornets finished their season (7-11-3, 6-8-2), but finished strong, maintaining a .500 winning percentage through the final 12 games. Fullerton will have to part ways with nine sophomores, including team captain Mallory Van Voorhis. However, there is reason for optimism with 14 freshman available to return in 2016.