Javier Zazueta
The sun couldn’t have been brighter for the Pierce College Women’s soccer team on Sept. 25. The Brahmas hosted Valley College at The Pit and dismissed them with a 6-0 shut out win to start the Western State Conference tournament.
“It was the best game of the year,” said Brahma coach Adolfo Perez of his team’s 10th game of the 2007 season. “It was well rounded. Usually, we play bad in the first half and good in the second half.”
The scoring spree started in the second minute of the game, when Lindsey Liggera netted her first goal of the contest.
After Valley was called for a foul in the 15th minute, Patricia Garcia took advantage of the 40-yard free kick by blasting a right-angle missile that was too far for the Monarch goalkeeper to reach, making the score 2-0 in Pierce’s favor.
Freshman midfielder-turned-forward Amanda Bernal scored on a turnaround shot for her fifth goal in the last two games, quickly increasing Pierce’s lead 3-0 in the 17th minute.
After Pierce secured a three-goal lead, Valley College brought some aggressiveness to the match, which seemed to work since the Brahmas would be held scoreless for the rest of the first half.
Valley coach Shane Watkins said, “We need to be more physical,” adding, “always need to be physical.”
Returning from intermission, the count would remain the same until the 18th minute, when Mia Swafford scored a fourth goal against their cross-town rivals.
In the 30th minute, Bernal not only landed her second goal of the competition, but increased Valley College’s misery. Pierce now held a 5-0 advantage.
To make sure that the Monarchs would remember their 2007 trip across the Metro Orange Line, the sophomore from Chatsworth, Liggera, scored her second goal of the game in the 40th minute, making the final score 6-0.
Brahma goalkeeper Natasha Jackson said, “They were a tough team to beat, but we were on our ‘A’ game.”
Bernal added about the victory, “everything is in place now.”
Coach Perez said he was proud of the way Pierce played.
“Pierce is much better,” said Valley midfielder Shanna Azurdia. But added, “I don’t think they are a team we can’t beat.”
The Pierce College women’s soccer team pummeled Citrus College, 3-0, during their match Friday in Glendora.
With this victory over the Monarchs, Pierce has gone four straight games without allowing a goal.
“We had a balanced offense and defense,” said Adolfo Perez, coach of the Pierce women’s soccer team. “We got five straight shutouts.”
Even though they finished with a victory, Perez saw some problems out on the field.
“We need to work on our corner kicks,” says Perez, “our corner kicks sucked during the game.”
Also, Perez was a little disappointed with how the team played.
“There’s a lack of concentration with the team at the beginning of the game,” says Perez. “The team is used to playing bad during the first quarter.”