Kiyomi Kikuchi
Overwhelming pressure for the Pierce College soccer team to break Glendale College’s defense early in the game, Pierce won what coach Adolfo Perez called a “physical game” Friday night at Glendale Community College, 2-0.
“We didn’t start with the starting lineup,” said midfielder Stephanie Cubias.
According to Pierce head coach Adolfo Perez, Pierce usually starts same way, but it changed gears in this game. “That(change) actually helped us,” said Perez. That change pulled two goals in the first half.
Glendale defenders tried to clear the ball in 12 minutes, but Pierce pressured them to get the ball. Brahma Jamie Noland, defensive midfielder, passed the ball through Glendale defenders to forward Yasmine Yahoum, who made the first point of the game.
Half an hour later, Pierce made a re-run of the first goal when Pierce midfielder Kelsey Morquecho kicked the pall to Yahoum, who scored another goal and brought the score to 2-0.
“I just thought positive and made it in,” Yahoum said. “Positive is key.”
“She did a great job,” Cubias said. She hasn’t been playing her game lately, but she is back in her game now, according to Cubias.
Though Pierce played slowly in the second half, Glendale couldn’t break Pierce defenders, and the score remained the same until Pierce won.
“It was good we scored early,” said Perez. “(Because) the game was hard to the end.”
Glendale put in a lot of pressure and didn’t give up, according to Perez.
Also, last year’s score against Glendale was a tie, 0-0. Perez commented, “(It is) always tough to play here.”
“Good game, Pierce is a good team,” said Glendale head coach Jorge Mena. “They know how to take care of business.”
Pierce didn’t have the home game against Bakersfield on last Tuesday due to poor air quality. However, “It was a good thing for us to prepare for the game (against Bakersfield),” Cubias said.
Bakersfield is a hard opponent, but Pierce is able to know what it needs to fix through this game, according to Cubias.
The victory Friday night puts Pierce at 10-2-3 for the season
Pierce midfielder Kelsey Morquecho, who made an assist for the second goal in the game, pressures a Glendale defender Friday night at Glendale College. Pierce defeated Glendale, 2-0. ()
