It was a sentimental evening for the Lady Brahmas on Friday at Shepard Stadium.
They had an overwhelming victory of 6-0 for their final game of the regular season against Cuesta College, and potentially the last time sophomore Lady Brahmas will play with their Pierce jersey.
Pierce started strong with the first goal being scored within the first three minutes of the game by forward Heidi Ricketts and assisted by midfielder Victoria Castro.
The Lady Brahmas would go on to score three goals in the first half, with the third being scored by Ricketts, with another assist from Castro. Pierce would finish the first half with six shots, and a yellow card for Castro. Cuesta would finish with four saves and one shot.
Ricketts expressed what pushed her throughout the game.
“I thrive off my teammates, they are the best,” Ricketts said. “We just have the best connection. As a team, I think we played amazing. We went on the road losing a few games so this is exactly what we needed, hopefully getting into the playoffs.”
Ricketts added that the team does need to work harder on regaining the ball when they lose it, if they move onto the playoffs.
The Cuesta College Cougars struggled to get the Lady Brahmas out of their side of the field for most of the game and sparingly breaking through the Lady Brahmas’ defense. By the end of the game, the Cougars only had one shot.
Head Coach Adolfo Perez shared his favorite moment of Friday’s game.
“Everybody played, and everyone contributed,” Perez said. “It does not always happen. Especially on Sophomore Night, the fact that everyone played and contributed was tremendous.”
Perez also provided a retrospect on Friday’s game and the season.
“It was exciting,” Perez said. “We got together in the game and the girls played their hearts out. We battled a lot of injuries through the year and they stuck together, and it was one of our best games of the year.”
The Lady Brahmas scored an additional three goals in the second half, and finished the game with 10 shots. They also broke their three-game losing streak.
The fourth goal of the game was scored by forward Natalie Villafana with the goalkeeper from Cuesta narrowly missing the ball. The fifth was scored by Ricketts, making it her third goal of the game while being assisted by midfielder Brenda Medina after Medina hit the crossbar only several seconds before.
The final goal of the game was made by Midfielder May Htet Lu. She revealed what scoring the goal meant to her.
“I wanted a goal because this is my last game as a sophomore, playing with the Pierce shirt for the regular season,” Lu said.
Lu believes the team had a good connection during the game and in order to succeed if they move onto the playoffs they need to continue playing the way they did and learn from this game’s mistakes.
“Considering that this is the last game of our regular season, I think we did a good job,” Lu said. “We had a good finish, and we scored as many goals as we could. I am proud of my teammates too because a lot of them got their first goals.”
The Lady Brahmas concluded their game with the sophomores taking photos with parents, coaches and other teammates, and being presented with posters and gifts, acknowledging their effort.
