The Falcons are sporting a 10-0-1 league mark, and they had to survive two hard-fought contests last week to hold onto first place.

The Falcons met St. Ignatius on Tuesday, and at the end of regulation the score was locked up in a 1-1 tie. Kellie York had scored the only goal in regulation with an assist from Alli Dunn. The Falcons took it in overtime when Gwen Belomy scored the winning goal with an assist from her sister, Lauren Belomy.

On Friday, Saratoga battled Del Mar in another closely fought contest and the Falcons grabbed a 1-0 victory. York scored the winning goal on a breakaway when she stole the ball from a defender at midfield, dribbling down to fire it past the goalie for the score.

"Everyone contributes on this team," said coach Amber Olsen. "We have a couple of players that lead the way but it is a total team effort. We usually win by only a goal or two, so our defense is very important."

Olsen pointed out Suzanne Lessack and Michelle Saxby as "good defensive players who keep the other team from scoring." She also indicated that goalies Lindsay Walker and Marissa Byrne "also do a good job."

The Falcons have a key contest coming up this week on Tuesday when they host Monta Vista, who is in second place with a 9-1-1 record. Monta Vista's only loss came at the hands of Saratoga in their first meeting earlier this season.

Falcons unbeaten

The Saratoga girls volleyball team maintained its winning ways with back-to-back victories over Lynbrook and Fremont last week. The Falcons are now 9-0 in the El Camino Division and 26-1 for the year.

Bryte Nielson buried 14 kills to lead the Falcons to a 25-21, 25-8, 25-23 win over the Vikings to open the week.

Nielson and Nina Sevastopoulos came back with 21 kills apiece to drive Saratoga to a 25-11, 24-26, 25-17, 25-12 win over Fremont.

Jordan Henry, Sarah Nguyen, Barbi Li, Lea Anthony, Hannah Gladwell, Amanda Anthony and Page Henry have figured as other key players for Saratoga this fall.

Falcons win two

Serena Lin won twice at No. 1 singles to lead the Saratoga girls tennis team to back-to-back wins over Gunn (6-1) and Los Altos (7-0) in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League. The Falcons improved to 8-2 in the division and to 16-4 for the year with the two wins.