Women’s soccer wins battle with Bakersfield

Daniel Cromar

Sometimes all you need is one.

That was all the Brahmas (11-2-3) needed on Monday, as they edged out a 1-0 win over the Bakersfield Renegades (9-4-1) at Pierce, in a game that was as physical as it was low-scoring.Three Pierce players went to the ground during the game, two of them having to leave the game for a few minutes before being able to return. Rocio Abundez went down twice, once in the first half, when she walked off the field before returning about five minutes later, and again in the second half, when she was able to remain in the game.

The real scare came late in the first half, when Pierce goalkeeper Betty Ramirez was knocked down in a fight for the ball in the penalty box. Fortunately, she was able to get up after about a minute, and remained in the game. Coach Adolfo Perez admitted that that made him nervous. “We have no backups,” he said.

Finally, about halfway through the second half, Dilhani Perera collided with a Bakersfield player in a fight for the ball and went down. She left the game for a few minutes before being able to return. To the disbelief of the Brahmas and the Brahma faithful (disbelief that they loudly vocalized), a foul was called on her on the play.

“That was wrong,” Perera said after the game. “But just having sportsmanship and just doing what the ref said,…all it did was just give me drive to work harder.”

That wasn’t the only call by referee Bruce Russell that the Brahmas had a problem with. Throughout the first half, it seemed that every call was going against them.

“We don’t expect calls, but every call was against us,” said Coach Perez. “And we’re supposed to be the home team.”

Those thoughts were clearly demonstrated by the coaching staff, as they spent a lot of the first half complaining. Perez seemed particularly upset when the referee stopped the game to make Perera take off the necklace she was wearing.

Russell took notice of their complaints. The Pierce coaches were given a warning about halfway through the first half.

“He just told us to stop complaining,” said Perez.

The coaches weren’t the only ones complaining. The Brahma supporters made their opinions known throughout the game, constantly calling for fouls that weren’t called or yelling about ones that were that they felt shouldn’t have been. They seemed particularly upset about the lack of cards given on either side. There were only two yellow cards in the game, one for each team, and in a game as physical as this one was, that number is surprisingly low.

Russell apparently didn’t let any of this affect him. When asked about the heat he had taken, all he said was “It’s all part of the game. It’s all fun.”

Questionable officiating or not, it goes without saying that this was definitely a very physical game. It was fitting that the only goal came on a penalty kick. Emelie Martinez put one into the upper right corner of the net in the first half.

“When I scored it I was really nervous” said Martinez. “I’m always nervous on penalty kicks. You have so much pressure because if you miss it’s like ‘whoa,’ you know?”

That proved to be the difference in the game, as the Brahmas were able to hold off the Renegades to complete the shutout.

Bakersfield threatened a few times in the second half, and in fact almost got the tying goal. A Bakersfield player looked like she had an easy shot, but Betty Ramirez almost seemed to come out of nowhere as she grabbed it before it could go in. That was really Bakersfield’s best chance. The Brahmas were basically in control throughout the second half, which was the opposite of the first half, when the Renegades seemed to be in control, at least until the penalty kick that would be their undoing. Perez chalked the momentum shift up to the Brahmas’ energy level. “In the second half, we dominated.” he said.

Sometimes, however, the intensity of the game can continue after its conclusion. Yasmin Yahoum was visibly upset after the teams lined up to shake hands, claiming that one of the Renegades had spat at her.

“It was very disrespectful,” she said. “But what can I say? We won the game and they’re just upset.”

The Brahmas certainly weren’t upset about the result, as they came away with a hard-fought victory over a tough Bakersfield team.

“I think the whole team played with pride, and they played with all their heart,” said Emilie Martinez. “I’m very proud of my team right now.”