New kids in town: Iron Rose FC draws impressive crowd in home opener

The Women's Premier Soccer League has arrived in Roseville and is already a hit among fans. Iron Rose FC played its first home game of its inaugural season Saturday night in front of nearly 2,000 fans at West Park High School in Roseville. The crowd began to file in an hour before kickoff but the home stands were soon filled and looked to be a sea of black and pink as fans donned their new Iron Rose gear and cheered on the area's newest semi-pro club. "It is huge to have this women's program in the area because those players on the team were once the kids in the stands just a few years ago," Iron Rose coach Max Alvarez said. "To have this in our backyard and for the girls to see a team this talented, hopefully it inspires the next generation. It was bound to happen and I'm glad it finally did." The club hosted FC Davis and while the match ended in a 1-1 draw, there was no shortage of excitement. Iron Rose was on the attack for the majority of the first half but had several narrow misses that kept it off the board. The home club continued to bombard FC Davis in the second half, but goalkeeper Mia Collins made several saves. Iron Rose finally broke through in the 76th minute. Auburn native Emma Scott found Sam Tristan on a through ball and Tristan put it in the back of the net for the first home goal in the club's history. The crowd roared as the team came together in celebration of the historic goal. "From the start of the game, we had so many shots and chances and it was really frustrating that we hadn't scored yet," Tristan said. "We were super hungry for our goal and I saw Emma look up to play the ball so I knew I needed to make the run. She delivered a perfect offer, and then I got to finish." Tristan said the crowd fueled the team to break through in the second half. "It was super exciting because the atmosphere is really great out here," Tristan said. The joy of taking the lead was short-lived, as FC Davis put together a few relentless attacks late in the match. After a few near misses, Tiffany Miras delivered an equalizer in the 89th minute to leave the home crowd stunned and silent for the first time all night. The silence wouldn't last long however, as the teams received a standing ovation after the final whistle. "It was really fun to play in this atmosphere with this crowd," Tristan said. "It sucks that we got the tie because I felt like we should have won for sure, but some of us have only been practicing together for a week and we don't even know each other that well yet." Tristan said the crowd for the first home match was "really great. I'm really thankful and grateful that all these people came out to support the growth of women's soccer. This is great for women's soccer and it's really cool to see people watching our sport. It's super exciting because at one point, I was that little girl looking up to the bigger players." Iron Rose picked up two points in its first two matches after draws with San Francisco Elite and FC Davis. It will be home Friday at West Park for fan appreciation night against Battle Born FC. "Each week we've gotten better and we've started to play a certain game that I think the coaches are trying to implement," Alvarez said. "We're creating a lot of chances and we're starting to get new players to come in as well. We just have to stay positive. Sometimes, results don't go your way, but I think there's a lot of positives to like here."