The trio of Folsom High School players on the Sacramento State women’s soccer team are in their final collegiate soccer season together.

Seniors Shea Roberts and Paige Tucker and sophomore Lauren Garcia have known each other since they were children and all attended the same elementary, middle and high schools.

Roberts’ father, Troy Roberts, coached her and Tucker’s first soccer team. The two girls only played one year together until their sophomore season at Folsom, but the two began a friendship that would continue for years to come.

In the years leading up to Folsom, Roberts and Tucker became close friends outside of soccer. It was not until their sophomore season in 2006 at Folsom that the two girls became teammates once again.

During their junior year of high school, Roberts and Tucker also joined the San Juan Soccer Club team together called the San Juan Spirits of ’90 team, which they played on for two years along with Sac State teammates Jordan Carlberg and Elece McBride.

The following season in 2008 was when all three girls were brought together.

Tucker, Roberts and Garcia became friends and began playing together that year for the first time. They all knew of each other growing up, but Garcia did not become friends and teammates with them until now.

Roberts and Tucker graduated in 2008 and moved onto college. Garcia was just finishing her sophomore year.

Tucker moved on and joined the Sac State women’s soccer team her freshman year.

She had already known Carlberg and McBride from club soccer.

“It was nice to have friends on the team before I started at Sac because it is really intimidating to step on to a team that already knows each other and has been playing together for a year or more,” Tucker said. “I think it helped to have familiar faces on the team already because we had all played together and had chemistry on and off the field.”

As for Roberts, she graduated from Folsom and joined the UC Irvine women’s soccer team her freshman year where she started all 19 games.

“Playing at UC Irvine was fun,” Roberts said. “It was a new experience since it was my first year of college soccer. The competition coming from high school was way different and more intense.”

Roberts only played one year at UC Irvine and transferred because her dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

“It was too hard playing Division I soccer away from home,” Roberts said. “There was not enough time for me to come home and visit and be with my dad.”

Roberts transferred to Sac State her sophomore year in 2009 and was welcomed by familiar teammates Tucker, Carlberg and McBride.

“I was really excited when I heard Shea was going to be coming to Sac State,” Tucker said. “It is definitely fun that after all the years of playing together we get to finish our careers together.”

In 2010, the Folsom trio was reunited. Garcia joined the Hornets for her freshman year, which was Roberts and Tucker’s junior year.

Garcia redshirted her first season because of a torn meniscus in her right knee and had to have surgery to repair it.

“It was tough because it was my first surgery, but I was fortunate to have my teammates there to support me,” Garcia said.

Even though Garcia was out for the season, she and the rest of the team had a lot to be happy about that year.

The Hornets defeated Northern Arizona University 1-0 and won their second Big Sky Conference championship in the last four years. It was the Hornets’ second trip to the NCAA Tournament in the school history.

The team’s chemistry over the years has grown as strong as a coach would hope it to be.

Roberts said the team is like one big family.

Heading into the 2011 season, the Hornets now have the target on them since they are the defending Big Sky champions.

Garcia has recovered from her torn meniscus after eight months of rehab.

Seven seniors are graduating this year including two of the Folsom trio, Tucker and Roberts, and San Juan Soccer Club teammate McBride.

This is the final chapter in the soccer life of Tucker and Roberts after a long road together.

Being two years younger, Garcia has learned from Tucker and Roberts and is not ready to lose such close friends.

“I honestly don’t even know what next year will be like without them, let alone all the seniors next year,” Garcia said. “It hasn’t really hit me yet that this is my last year with them on the field. Paige and Shea have always helped me from high school soccer to becoming a collegiate athlete and I’m definitely going to be sad when the season ends.”

The final home game for the Folsom duo of Roberts and Tucker and all the other seniors will be at 4 p.m. Thursday against Idaho State at Hornet Field.

“I think it’s really going to hit me at the senior game and when they talk about how it’s our last home game,” Tucker said. “I’m sure the waterworks will be coming out.”

Josh Stanley can be reached at [email protected].