The highlight of this year's fundraising campaign was Heritage Soccer Club’s First Annual “Black and Gold Ball” held on November 8 at the Contra Costa Country Club. The silent auction included theme baskets donated by each team and were creatively organized and beautifully presented. We had many other items donated by local businesses and Heritage families and friends. The live auction was emceed by our very own Ken Wilkins who demonstrated an amazing talent of persuading and taunting our audience to bid just a bit higher! Live music and dancing followed the auction and the dance floor was full the entire night. If this event was any indication of what future events will be, then you will not want to miss the Second Annual Black and Gold Ball planned for September, 2004!

Other fundraising activities included the sale of discount cards and a Club sponsorship drive. With nearly 92% player participation in these campaigns, the Club received hundreds of donations, including numerous Club sponsorships beginning at the $250 level through as much as $1,000. Please visit the sponsor page of the web site to see the list of Club sponsors. The Club sponsorship levels are as follows:

$250     Bronze Sponsor
$500     Silver Sponsor
$1,000   Gold Sponsor
$1,000+   Platinum Sponsor

In addition to the fundraising activities, we had numerous families pay the $175.00 "opt-out fee" which accounted for a significant portion of our fundraising success.

I would like to thank the players and their families for their support and dedication in working so diligently with me during this year’s fundraising activities. Without your support, the successes that were achieved for the 2003 season would not have been possible.

Sincerely,

Sharon Piserchio
V.P. of Fundraising and Marketing

January 20, 2004
HERITAGE FALCONS (U-12 Boys) ADVANCE IN STATE CUP
The Falcons are off to a flying start in their State Cup debut as they advance to the round of 16. For a new team that just started this is a very special achievement. The team has had a successful year - two first place finishes in tournaments, a consolation and they came within one goal of winning the league, ending one point behind the winners.

In the first round of the State Cup, they were grouped with two of the top Gold teams in a very difficult three team bracket. Advancing to the next round from this bracket makes it even sweeter.

The first game was against De Anza SV United who went to round 2 last year. The Falcons pressed hard from the start with a strong midfield, especially Andres Orozco and Jonathan Medina, that kept the attack in De Anza territory. The Falcons showed their strike force with a goal in the 6th minute from Carlos Lopez. The game evened out a little after that but the Falcons closed the first half strongly with a second goal to take a 2-0 lead into the half. This was again a result of the midfield pressure with center half Andres scoring the goal.

The second half started out on even terms. The Falcons midfield again showed its potency with Andres scoring the third goal to take a 3-0 lead. De Anza then piled on the pressure and it paid off as they scored to make it 3-1 with 9 minutes to go. The Falcons defense rose to the challenge despite tremendous pressure from De Anza. Exceptional performances from Justin Briggs and Richard Calhoun helped anchor the defense and the Falcons came up 3-1 winners.

The second game was against the Hayward Charruas who had a third place finish in the Gold Division. The first half was well contested with Hayward having the edge in possession and territory. The Falcons missed two great chances to open the scoring with Andres Orozco shooting over the cross-bar and Alex Jacobo’s shot being deflected off a defender’s leg. The Charruas drew first blood, scoring off an error to make it 1-0 at the half.

The Falcons regrouped and put on the pressure in the second half. This was team work at its very best with disciplined and gutsy performances from each player. Their heart and never-say-die effort paid off as the Falcons equalized with 9 minutes left with a goal from Andres Orozco. Three minutes later, Andres was denied by a great save from the Hayward keeper. The closing minutes of the game were all Hayward as the Charruas swarmed over the Falcons in desperation but to no avail.

While the Falcons have their eyes on the second round, they are also looking forward to getting stronger next year.

The Falcons will be holding tryouts on February 29, March 6 and 14 and invite all motivated players to come and be a part of a success story that is bound to add more to its legend in the coming years.

January 12, 2004
CHAOS NEWS!
Association Cup update: We had a great start to the Association Cup Saturday with a 2-0 win over the Fremont Crusaders on Saturday. During the first half we were fighting the wind and most of the play was down in our half of the field but the defense held tough lead by Donnie Beeler and Rubin Komisar. The team showed its mettle with a corner kick by Jimmy Gardener, a high flick by Philip Linfoot, and a tap into the goal by Stewart Malcolm registering the first goal of the game. The second half the wind was in our favor and a great right cross by Tucker Gallagher to Johnny Camarena for a hard shoot into the right corner of the goal - text book. Robert Mull and Ben Zalewski did a great job as keepers stopping all the Crusaders shots. Go Chaos!!

Sunday was tougher. Chaos lost 4-1 in the Sunday morning game against the Lemoore Rebels.

HARRIER NEWS!
The Harriers again prove they are a team on the rise.

This weekend at the Chevrolet Association Cup in Morgan Hill, California, the Harriers played outstanding soccer winning their group and out scoring their opponents 2-0, 2-1, 5-0.

On Sunday morning the Harriers found themselves tied for first place with a very good San Ramon Storm team and both teams knew the winner of the last match would move on to the final sixteen. Rising to the challenge the Harriers played the best soccer of their first year together. They were relaxed and played with tremendous skill and confidence.

They scored early with a header from Brianna Rodrigues, her first of two in the game. The Harriers took complete control of the game with every player playing smart soccer. Other scorers were, Katie Echols and Hailey Babin. All year this team has worked hard together and this performance showed that they are not ready to go home just yet.