Behind a strong second half in which the Brahmas scored all three of its goals of in a span of four minutes, Pierce College was able to get the win while also holding the Lancers to just three shots.
Pierce College hosted the Pasadena Lancers at John Shepard Stadium on Friday night, Oct. 30. The Brahmas took the game with a final score of 3-0 on Sophomore night for Pierce.
Assistant coach for the Brahmas Cruz Hernandez wanted to see how the team came out to start the game after a small ceremony honoring the sophomores on the team.
“Being Sophomore night, there are a lot of distractions but I am glad that the girls were able to put that aside when it was over,” Hernandez said.
In the first half both teams came out passing well and moving the ball on its side of the field.
The Brahmas started to put more pressure mid way through the first half as they started to control the ball a lot more and had more time of possession.
Pierce had few opportunities to score and grab a lead in this game but could not finish on them. Head coach for the Brahmas Adolfo Perez thought the Lancers did a good job against his team in the first half as they were playing good defensively and making it difficult for the Brahmas’ offense.
“It was frustrating in the first half because they were doing a good job and they were very compact and it was hard for us,” Perez said.
The first half did not see any goals as the half ended in a score of 0-0 despite the Brahmas taking eight shots and holding the Lancers to one shot.
Pierce came out more aggressive on the offensive side of the ball and applied more pressure on the Lancers defense in the second half. The Brahmas came out with eight more shots and held the Lancers to just three shots.
“I told them that they are good. They have to believe and that they have to keep working and put pressure,” Perez said. “They came out and made it happen.”
Forward Lesly Gonzalez scored a goal in the 54th minute to put the Brahmas up 1-0.
It did not take long for the Brahmas to take control of the game.
Two minutes later Gonzalez struck again in the 56th minute, as she put the ball in the back of the net for the second time in the game.
It was a team effort as the first goal was assisted by defender Stephanie Alcazar and the second by forward Makayla Nichols.
“I’m very proud of scoring two goals and I’m also proud of my team because without them I wouldn’t have been able to score,” Gonzalez said. “I’m glad we were able to play good and get that win.”
Makayla Nichols scored two minutes after in the 58th minute that to give the Brahmas the final score of 3-0.
Perez liked the way his team played the game and the way that they ended it going forward for their remaining games.
“It was a good game for us, it was good to score some goals,” Perez said. “We have to continue playing with three forwards which we did today and in the second half against Moorpark. We have to continue to put pressure on the other teams.”
Pierce looks to continue scoring in the team’s remaining games as they continue to take more shots than most of the opponents.
“This is a team where we have had so many opportunities this season to put the ball in the back of the net and we haven’t but now we are starting to do it and at the right time,” Hernandez said. “They are feeling more comfortable out there and we are practicing finishing a lot more and it is starting to show.”
The team improved in the second half of the game and that was the difference.
“I feel like in the the first half we were a bit lazy but we picked it up because we really wanted to win,” Gonzalez said. “In the second half we came out with more energy and started connecting and our intensity went up and we showed that we actually wanted to win.”
Despite winning 3-0 the team made some mistakes and look to improve on those mistake for the remainder of the season and playoffs and this win will help them do that.
“This win will keep motivating us,” Gonzalez said. “We will keep improving from every mistake, even though we won today we made mistakes and will get better to go all the way.”
The Brahmas look to catch up to Moorpark who is first in the division. Pierce (9-1-6) host Santa Barbara (7-4-4) in the team’s final home game of the season on Tuesday, Nov. 3 at 3:30 p.m.
