Chaffey College’s fast start propels the Panthers to a shutout victory over Pierce as the Brahmas suffered its first defeat of the season to the Panthers at home, 4-0.
The Panthers scored quickly in the second minute of the game as Pierce attempted to catch up to no avail.
Coach Adolfo Perez has been at Pierce for all 16 seasons of the soccer program, and described the loss as “the worst loss” in school history.
“We played a very fast, very athletic team,” Perez said. “They scored in crucial moments too. They scored in the first two minutes and then in the second half in the first two minutes.”
The physical play of the Panthers set the tone for the game early on.
“They were a very good team, physical, very athletic,” assistant coach Willie Diaz said. “We had a tough time with the physicality.”
Despite the physical play throughout the game, only one yellow card was issued, and not until late in the second half. By then Chaffey’s style and pace had already made its mark on the game.
“We didn’t start off strong,” goalkeeper Brianna Jacobo said. “We weren’t in it until toward the end when we got a wake up call from those two goals at the beginning of the half.”
The Brahmas used a stream of substitutes throughout the game, trying to compete with an unusually offensive Chaffey team, but it wasn’t enough.
“They had 29 players,” Perez said. “They kept switching and that just killed us.”
Next on the schedule for the Brahmas is Ventura College, who Perez describes as another tough opponent.
“This is non-conference, but we schedule very good teams to get us ready for conference,” Perez said. “We have a young team and it gets tough. It doesn’t get easier. We have our work cut out.”
The game against Ventura College will be Tuesday, Sept. 27 at 4 p.m. at The Pit.
