RAGE vs. Olympic Club – June 18th, 2025

In their second meeting of the season, after previously losing 0-2, RAGE defeated the No. 7-ranked Olympic Club in a physical match.

This must-win match followed a narrow 4-3 loss to the No. 1-ranked Stockton Cargo in the Western Conference NorCal Division.

“We were so close to beating Cargo, and I think from there we believed in ourselves a little more, and we definitely want to keep going this season and showing what we have,” said forward Trini Quiroz, who scored both goals in the win. “So, yeah, it definitely fueled us.”

Quiroz scored both goals in the first half. She scored in the 24th minute after following a rebound– capitalizing when the goalkeeper failed to secure possession after a diving save. Her second goal came in the 41st minute, with a precise shot placed in the bottom right corner. 

 “It’s really exciting to see her get her confidence back,” Head Coach Sarah Fawcett said.

RAGE looked to press hard initially and focus on their communication, and Quiroz credited the team’s preparation and discipline going into the match.

“We’re aware that the Olympic Club is good in transition, and they were going to press us a lot, so we were just mindful of that, and just reminding everybody to show in spaces for each other and keep calm under pressure,” Quiroz said.

Although the Olympic Club controlled the ball initially with their high pressure against RAGE’s back side, the defense held firm and transitioned the ball effectively. As the game wore on, it became clear how much RAGE have grown as a team. 

In just her second game, Marta Plegerín showed improved understanding with Quiroz of how one another moved through the field and attacked the ball, which was especially important as Alejandra Melendeaz didn’t start the first half due to injury. 

“At this point in the season, we’ve definitely meshed together, and I think we all understand how we each play, and it’s been showing a lot,” Quiroz said. 

The defense, which has been crucial to RAGE’s success this season, fell apart in the previous match against the Cargo, as they allowed four goals from the wide areas, the most they conceded all season. 

“I think our goal today was to come in as a unit because against the Cargo, we were kind of working on a solo mission instead of like a team,” defender Viviana Bravo said. “So I think today we kind of just wanted to work together and move together.”

Bravo noted that scoring first helped the defense’s mentality to take more risks when putting pressure on the Olympic Club’s forwards in their efforts to strip the ball and move it up the field rather than sitting back and trying to react to the Olympic Club’s moves. 

“I think them being aggressive really woke us up. I mean, we had a great lead, so we knew we had to keep being aggressive in order to win the game, because it’s about playing the full 90,” Bravo said. “We couldn’t just play 45 and then rest the other 45. We knew they wanted to score, and we weren’t gonna let that happen, so we had to be just as aggressive as them.” 

Fueled by the loss against the Cargo, RAGE dictated the pace against the Olympic Club. They controlled tempo, settling the play when needed and accelerating in attack. 

“I think the Olympic Club and the Cargo are a little different,” said Coach Emily Scheese. “The Olympic Club pressed our back line hard in the first game, but today, we kept our wingers connected to our back line, which gave us better options. We also played with a double six, which I think worked better. 

Looking ahead, the Cargo remains the team to beat following RAGE’s next match against the California Storm.

“We’re working on cutting off service into wide channels to begin with,” Scheese said. “It’s like a domino effect, if one [player] doesn’t shift over, then everyone’s in a no man’s land. Which is how they capitalized, and essentially scored the same goal against us four times.” 

If RAGE can execute a defensive strategy to contain the Cargo’s wingers and force poor shot selection, they may pose a serious threat to the top team in the conference, especially with the attack finding their momentum. 

“Trini’s obviously opened the floodgates now, four goals in two games– two of which came against the Cargo,” Fawcett said. “It’s really exciting to see the vibe Trini and Marta had from the Cargo game continue on in our offense– it’s an exciting time, you never know what’s going to happen.”