Lail Stockfish / Roundup
It was reigning pink on Friday for the reigning champs. The evening was ruled by pink hair ties, pink wrist bands, pink laces, pink tape, pink warm-up jerseys, and most importantly, two pink balls in the back of one pink net.
That’s right, the Brahamas stood up for the women tonight in what Head Coach Adolfo Perez called “their best game to date.”
They beat Western State Conference (WSC) Southern Division title contenders, the Bakersfield College Renegades, 2-0 keeping their 11 game winning streak alive and adding a 10th consecutive shut out to their resume.
And they did it while honoring breast cancer awareness month.
The game had a gloomy start when home game announcer Brian King dedicated the game in memory of the lives that were lost or affected to this disease, which statistically affects one in every two women.
For players like Briana Behrad, this hit especially close to home. Her grandmother is a breast cancer survivor and she has lost a cousin to the disease.
“It means a lot, even my mom started crying,” Behrad said after the game.
But that didn’t bring her down once the first ear shrieking whistle was blown.
In the 6th minute, she scored the first goal on a run, setting the tone and providing Pierce with the early lead.
Still, the game only got harder from there.
With corner kicks that dropped down right into the center of the box, Bakersfield had Pierce goal keeper Marissa Graska covered in mud and grass stains early on, making her and her defense fight hard for this shut out.
According to Perez, defense is rarely recognized but it was an intense game and stopper Samantha Tan deserved MVP this time, and not because it was her birthday.
“[Bakersfield] is always going to play hard, they have big strong girls and our defense had to save us a lot. [Samantha] really stepped it up a notch,” said Perez.
According to Tan a little good birthday energy served her well, especially after a disappointing performance against Santa Monica College.
“I didn’t have a great game against the last hard team we played but I felt extra confident today. [Perez] is really hard on me so it feels amazing to be recognized,” she said.
Despite their efforts, Bakersfield conceded a second goal late in the first half off the foot of top goal scorer, Erica Vangsness, which ultimately defined the game.
In Pierce’s last game against mission college she scored 2 goals to become Pierce College’s all-time single season goal scored leader. The goal was Erica’s 16th of the season.
Renegades Head Coach Scott Dameron sat with his rooting and cheering substitute players on the visitors bench, and calmly watched while his team fought hard until the end.
“I was proud of the way we competed,” he said. “It was a very good game with opportunities for both sides.”
The Lady Brahma’s improved their record to 12-0-1 overall and 6-0 in the WSC Southern Division.
The next game with be on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Glendale College.
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