Women’s soccer are on the verge of reaching a milestone after winning against Santa Barbara City College.
Forward Kiara Washington scored the winning goal as Pierce won 1-0.
Washington said that the game went well, and that the key focus for the team is to be persistent and adamant on winning a goal.
“Never give up and keep going until the whistle blows at the end of this game,” Washington said. “[We need] to stay focused and connected as a team.”
The game started with a competitive edge as both the Brahmas and Vaqueros tried to gain the lead.
Forward Alexandra Meza was close to scoring a goal, but the shot went over the crossbar.
Moments later, midfielder Halle Manalili also had an opportunity to score, but her shot went wide.
For the Vaqueros, midfielder Delaney Kenney almost scored a goal but was stopped by Brahma goalie Anabelle Rosas.
Throughout the game, there was tension to see which team would score first as both teams were close, especially during the first half of the game.
At halftime, Brahmas and Vaqueros tied 0-0.
The second half was more of the same, with both teams aiming to keep possession.
When the game was close to ending in another draw, a bad giveaway from SBCC was recovered by Meza and she delivered a through ball to Washington for the only goal of the game.
Head soccer coach Adolfo Perez said despite players having injuries, like Washington who couldn’t play in the first half, he was proud of them.
“These guys are resilient,” Perez said. “We battled over injuries and COVID, and we have Kiara that was hurt. They were very tough. Physically we looked like midgets, but we played like giants.”
Perez said he wanted to try different options against the Vaqueros.
“I think we changed our formation,” Perez said. “We went to a 4-4-2. We usually play a 4-3-3, and we put Halle on the right instead of the left and it worked.”
Perez also said that he kept changing the goalie and always had mixed results, but that it worked today. He also said that the defense did great.
Perez said this is one of the best games the team has played.
“Well I thought that we were superb,” Perez said. “The first 20 minutes was the best soccer we’ve played all year.”
SBCC’s head coach John Sisterson said that although they were missing players, Vaqueros wanted to come face to face with Pierce College.
“We’re missing a couple of players, it was unfortunate, but you got to take the bull by the horns and get after it,” Sisterson said.
With the win, Pierce’s earned a 299th win and could get the 300th on Tuesday. Perez said he believes it’s possible.
“It could happen on Tuesday, and it’s hard to win a game when you consider 299 is pretty special,” Perez said. “I’m just happy about this one.”
Sisterson thinks Perez will get that win.
“I’m sure Adolfo will get that milestone,” Sisterson said. “I just hope it’s not against us.”
Women’s soccer host Cuesta on Tuesday. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
