Daniel Cromar
You can’t win in the postseason if you can’t play under pressure, and the women’s soccer team proved it could do just that.
The Brahmas won a thriller Saturday at Moorpark College, overcoming a 1-0 halftime deficit to beat the Raiders in penalty kicks and advance to the second round of the California Community College Athletic Association State Championship Playoffs.
Rachel Kove, who scored one of the Brahmas’ penalty kicks, said, “This team is unbelievable. We were so relentless, and we knew we were not going to give up, and no matter what it took, we were going to win.”
The first half was exactly the kind of situation the Brahmas tried to avoid. The Raiders kept them from applying any substantial pressure-and began applying pressure of their own-finally breaking through halfway through the half with the first goal of the game. The frustration only continued to mount as sloppy play and missed opportunities kept the Brahmas off the board.
Head coach Adolfo Perez said, “We were nervous. We have a very young team. Nine of the kids starting are freshmen.”
To add insult to injury, Perez received a yellow card for arguing with the referee on a questionable foul and Amanda Bernal received a yellow of her own on the same play.
The first half ended with the Raiders on top, 1-0, and at the start of the second half, it looked like it would stay that way. The Brahmas continued to let scoring opportunities pass them by, including a ball that looked to be a sure goal deflecting out of bounds off the foot of Dilhani Perera.
Then, all of the sudden, the momentum started to turn. The Brahmas started to apply more and more pressure, keeping the ball near the Raiders goal and taking more and more shots. Finally, in the closing minutes of the game, freshman Stephanie Cubias found herself alone in front of the net with just the goalie to beat.
“I’m thinking…’It’s an easy goal…put it in,'” Cubias said.
And that’s exactly what she did, evening up the score at 1-1, and that’s the way it stayed.
The overtime periods looked like the exact opposite of the first half and the beginning of the second half. All of a sudden, it was the Brahmas who looked in control, and the Raiders who were starting to panic. Moorpark head coach Eric Privat even received a yellow card of his own for the same reason Perez got his.
After two scoreless overtime periods, the game came down to a penalty-kick shootout, and the Brahmas took it easily. Pierce goalkeeper Betty Ramirez did not allow the Raiders to put a single shot in, while Yasmine Yahoum and Rachel Kove scored for the Brahmas.
“When the girl came up there, she looked really nervous,” said Ramirez of the last Moorpark player to take a shot. “Looking into her eyes, she looked like she didn’t want to kick it.”
Ramirez blocked the last shot to seal the victory.
While the victory is definitely a cause for celebration, the Brahmas have to continue looking ahead. They will travel to Norwalk tomorrow to face the Cerritos College Falcons, the #1 seed in the region, and they have very little time to practice.
“They’re very athletic, but they have some weaknesses, just like everyone else,” Perez said of the Falcons.
Pierce midfielder Stephanie Cubias defends her posession of the ball against Moorpark College at the Moorpark soccer field Nov. 22, 2008. ()