With the preseason coming to an end, the boys’ soccer team achieved a 3-2 record, most recently beating Prospect 2-1 on Dec. 7.

Coach: Tim Lugo, entering his fourth season as head coach

2010 Record: 5-5 (2-4 in league)

2010 Recap: Despite defeating crosstown rival Los Gatos to snap a 27-year losing streak and playing well against state champion Palo Alto, the Falcons struggled in league, costing them a chance to reach CCS.

The Falcons lost 16 games this year, but many players felt good that they were able to win two of the final four games in exciting fashion.

“Saratoga is dead; it doesn’t have any spirit,” my rather pessimistic sister Brittany said when I asked what rallies and Homecoming were like when she went to Saratoga High. Before I entered high school, older friends shared with me their stories of how school spirit makes high school memorable.

In the past, the school sports teams have ordered uniforms and apparel from different brands. Last year, the school made an agreement with Nike to buy all their sports apparel from Nike in exchange for large discounts on Nike merchandise. The fact that all sports uniforms will be from Nike has sparked some varying opinions among student athletes.

Sophomore wrestler Nick Marshall let out a sigh of relief as he stepped onto the awards podium at the toughest tournament of the year on Jan. 23 , Mid-Cals, to receive his seventh place medal. The Mid-Cals tournament in Gilroy is a two-day competition in which the best wrestlers from the all over the state come to represent their schools, and Saratoga was well represented. Other notable Falcon performances were sophomore Alfred Murabito, 127 lbs, and freshman Zachary Hansen, 105 lbs , both making it to the second day of the tournament, held Jan. 22-23.

As the boys' soccer team kicks off their 2009-10 season, they seek to build off last year and win with the help of a new coach and young spirit.

"I think we have a pretty good team this year," said sophomore defender Manish Raghavan. " We don't have that many seniors, but I think that we'll be fine."

CCS expectations fell short for the girls' field hockey team as a devastating 3-0 loss against Presentation on Nov. 14 knocked them out of the playoffs in the quarterfinal round.

The players felt that a slow start in the first half resulted in Presentation's two goals before halftime. Despite a tough fight in the second half, Saratoga was not able to score and Presentation managed to slip in one last goal.

Fifth place. That might not sound like rank worthy of boasting, but for the field hockey team, fifth place in the Mount Hamilton league was all they needed to snag a spot in the CCS playoffs.

Throughout the season, the girls struggled to come out on top as several losses to daunting opponents such as Los Gatos, Saint Francis and Archbishop Mitty broke the team momentum. However, when the chances of even making the CCS playoffs were becoming slim, the team stepped it up and managed to get one of the final spots. The team was scheduled to play North Salinas Nov. 12 at home.