The Pierce women’s soccer team was shut out 1-0 against Santa Monica College Saturday in the first round of the Western Southern Conference playoffs.
The Brahmas entered the game having won their last three games and finished with a 15-4-3 record.
Pierce had not allowed a goal in the last three games, including the last game of the year against the Santa Monica Corsairs.
The Brahmas won the Southern Division for the second year in a row with eight new players on the team from last year.
The Corsairs entered the playoffs with a 9-5-8 record second in the southern division. The two teams split the regular season with the Corsairs winning at home 1-0 and the Brahmas winning the last game of the season 6-0.
The Brahmas played without forward Nikki Walberg, who tore her ACL in the last game of the regular season. Walberg was sixth in scoring in the WSC with 15 goals.
The Brahmas entered the game with the top two leading scorers in the WSC with Elia Petrosian first with 23 goals and Poirsha Woolfork with 17. The Brahmas’ Elizabeth Salguero, who had eight goals and seven assists during the season, filled in for Walberg.
The Brahmas’ goalkeeper, Rachael Vreeland, had allowed only seven goals all season with a goal average of 0.43 second in the WSC.
Vreeland had 12 shutouts this season including three going into the playoffs.
The game began slowly with much midfield play in the first three minutes, then Pierce got a corner kick at 3:30 and Giuliana Facio took a shot that the hit the cross bar and went out.
Soon after that Woolfork got a shot that went over the goal at 5:25 in the first half.
Santa Monica tried to respond with a series of scoring chances after that. The Corsairs got a shot that was saved by Vreeland at 7:02.
Santa Monica then had a corner kick at 8:55 that was kicked out by Pierce. The Corsairs got another corner kick at 9:44 that a header out of bounds off the Corsairs’ Lydia Ladden.
The Brahmas’ Head Coach Adolfo Perez received a yellow card at 11:17 for arguing a non-call when the Brahmas’ defensive-back Heather Painter was tripped from behind.
Soon after the Brahmas had another scoring chance when Woolfork got a pass up-field from Painter and took a shot that was saved by Santa Monica goalkeeper Andy Grierman at 13:34 in the first half.
Woolfork got another shot on goal at 18:06, but was caught in the air by Grierman. About a minute later the Brahmas’ Petrosian took a corner kick that sailed over the goal at 19:43. The Brahmas would get another corner kick by Facio at 20:10 that was caught again by Grierman.
The Corsairs got a corner kick at 30:41 and Santa Monica’s forward Sarah Mescher got a shot that was saved by Vreeland.
The Brahmas came out of the half with some quick scoring chances early in the second half.
Facio had a corner kick at 1:07 that was kicked over the net. Facio got another corner kick at 2:30 and then again at 4:05 but with no luck as the Brahmas would miss on both chances.
Santa Monica scored the only goal of the game when forward Lydia Ladden hit the ball off her head and into the net past Vreeland at 20:38 in the second half.
Pierce would respond with long passes and fast break attempts for the rest of the game but with no luck.
Petrosian tried to tie up the game after Painter got her the ball at 23:00, but the shot was saved by Grierman.
“We had more shots in the beginning but we didn’t keep it up,” said Petrosian.
“I missed four shots today,” said Woolfork.
The Brahmas had no shots on goal in the last two minutes of the game and lost 1-0 in the first round of the Southern Regional playoffs.
With very litlle time left in the second half, Elia Petrosian fights to gain possesion of the ball as the Brahmas deperately struggle to tie the score of the game. Santa Monics College was able to maintian their one point lead and Pierce eventually lost the game 0-1. ()