After twice walking away from the Sac-Joaquin Section championship match without the title banner in tow, the question almost seemed rhetorical to Alane Burke early Monday evening as her Forest Lake Christian Falcons head into the first round of the soccer playoffs.

"We'd love to take the whole thing this year," said Burke, whose Falcons host Denair at 3:30 p.m. today. "We'd love to get that big banner with all of our names on it into our gym."

The Central Valley Christian League champion Falcons have been so close to doing that the past two seasons that there's little left for them than the whole enchilada. In 2006, FLC fell in the section final to Modesto Christian by a 1-0 count. Last year, Capital Christian came up with the game-winner in two overtimes for a 2-1 verdict.

But no matter how hungry the Falcons are to bring that banner back from Lincoln High School's pitch Saturday morning, no one on the south county club is looking that far ahead - especially its coaching staff.

Burke said the two games it will take to get there promise to be competitive contests, especially a potential second-round date with Capital Christian on Thursday

"You try not think about it or look ahead, but looking at things, we will probably end up playing Capital," Burke said. "But you never want to underestimate your opponent and we won't do that with Denair."

The Coyotes, the Southern League runners-up, come down Combie Road with a 11-2-4 overall record, including a 7-1-4 mark since April 1. The lone loss in that stretch came at the feet of league champ Le Grand, whom the Falcons topped in the section semifinals last season.

The team is led by forwards Jessi Cole, who has totaled 25 goals on the season, and Leslie Rodriguez, who has scored 10 goals and assisted on seven others this season. In goal, Annissa Turpin has averaged 10.4 saves each outing.

On the opposite end, FLC's one-two punch of senior Jessica Raskin and sophomore Logan Burke in the midfield has proven to be punishing for opponents. Raskin has racked up 25 goals and 11 assists, while Burke has 14 goals and 13 assists. The duo has been so dominant that FLC's coaches switched their alignment from a 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3, offering more attack on the offensive end.

The switch was almost made possible by a stingy Falcon defense, led by sophomore goalkeeper Morghan Pomeroy, who has pitched seven shutouts on the season and is allowing just 0.74 goals per game.

The Falcons have not fallen in a match in more than a month, with their last defeat coming April 7 to Central Valley Christian League. In that span, FLC has hammered its opponents to the tune of 68-5. And in the key CVCL clashes, against league contenders Victory Christian and Vacaville Christian, the Falcons flew to the top of the league standings with a 2-1-3 mark those matches.

"Four to five weeks ago, I felt like we really started to gel with Logan and Jessica at center mid. They don't need to say anything to each other, they just read each other," Alane Burke said. "And everyone is trusting our defense and goalie.

"We've definitely gelled at the right time."

To contact Sports Editor Brian Hamilton, e-mail bhamilton@theunion.com or call 477-4240.