Give the Cordova High School girls soccer team a break – literally.

The Lady Lancers are enjoying a nice holiday break from non-conference play. Their last game was on Dec. 15th, when they fell to Elk Grove 4-0 at Lancers Stadium. But that loss didn’t damper their spirits, as they are off to a 4-3-1 start.

Next Tuesday, the Lancers return to action, along with the Cordova High School boys soccer team, as they will host Laguna Creek in a doubleheader at Lancers Stadium. The girls will play at 4 p.m., followed by the boys at 6 p.m.

Brian Danzl is in his first season at the Cordova girls soccer coach. He’s served as an assistant coach on the Cordova varsity and junior varsity teams for the last nine years. Danzl is thrilled to have a mixture of returning players – seven seniors and five juniors – plus nine underclassmen.

“Good bunch of girls,” Danzl said.

Seniors on this year’s squad are Adrienne Hammond, Lexi Samayoa, McKenzie Emery, Charlotte Perez, Hunter Roberts, Maria Vigil and Alyssa Moreno.

Juniors who make the move from last year’s JV team are Priscilla Juarez, Claire Nuttall, Yelena Melnik, Yamira Martinez and Grace Hill, who is in her first year of playing high school soccer.

On the roster are six sophomores; Amella Alvarado, Annalisa Tate, Shelby Konarshi, Kiran Pooni, McKayla Tyson, Leonor Vega and Rianna Tyson.

Rounding out the Cordova varsity roster are freshmen Gabby Maduri and Annette Medina.

Battling for playing time as goal keeper are Juarez and Tyson. Even better news that the two are not only battling to be the starter before Sierra Valley Conference action begins, but they are a junior and sophomore expected to return next winter.

“It’s going to be a good rivalry,” said Danzl of the two goal keepers.

The coach feels the team has made a smooth transition to playing high school girls soccer during the winter time. Two and a half years ago, most of the Sac-Joaquin Section leagues voted to move soccer from spring to winter. This is in order to launch NorCal and state playoffs in the both genders the next two to three years, as there already is in football, volleyball, cross-country, boys and girls basketball and wrestling. The rest of the sections in California were already playing boys and girls soccer in the winter months.

The team to beat in the SVC, according to Danzl, is Liberty Ranch, which won the conference title last spring and had a deep run in the section’s Division IV playoffs.

“I wanted to step up our pre-season schedule so that we’ll have a look at what we’ll be facing,” said Danzl of Liberty Ranch and the rest of the SVC squads.

Cordova will play American Canyon to wrap up the preseason on Friday, Jan. 9th before starting SVC action on Jan. 12th against rival Rosemont.