Vanessa Arriola
s the women’s soccer team end their third straight Southern Division Western State Conference Championship, there is one player who had the drive and determination to have the team make it as far as they did.
Jamie Doyen, a 23-year-old Pierce student, has been playing soccer since she was a child.
“I have played soccer since I was 5 and competitive club soccer since I was 10 years old,” said Doyen in an e-mail interview.
Doyen already has her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from the University of Southern California.
Her return to Pierce was based simply on the game and the coach.
“I chose to play for Pierce because of the women’s soccer coach, Adolfo Perez. He coached the club soccer team I played on from age 13 to 19,” Doyen stated.
Perez, admits Doyen’s return was unexpected. “It doesn’t happen everyday,” he said.
Having Doyen on the team worked to an advantage, according to Perez.
“She was one of the best additions,” said Perez.
Although being on the team was fun and gave Doyen the opportunity to play competitively, there was the issue of playing with girls who were four to five years younger than her
“Before coming back and playing, I imagined it might be hard for me to form friendships with the girls on the team,” Doyen said.
According to Doyen, she was surprised to see that she had formed friendships with a lot of the girls on and off the field.
Perez said the age difference was not an issue at all.
Being a soccer fanatic, Doyen admits she has someone who influences her and that one person is Perez.
“If it wasn’t for him I would not have come back and played for Pierce,” said Doyen. “Although he is a tough coach, he expects a lot from his players and I would not have developed into the player I am now without him.”
Perez said Doyen did not have to try out since he knew her. All the focus was on her getting back into the physical routine since Doyen hadn’t played in five years.
Bob Lofrano, athletic director, said he didn’t personally know Doyen but did say that the women’s team had a successful year.
“They won their conference,” said Lofrano.
Doyen is currently enrolled in 13 units at Pierce and taking a variety of classes, such as journalism (she is not part of The Roundup staff), criminal investigations and business entrepreneurship. She also works at her father’s manufacturing company as the account manager.
As far as her teammates and new friends go, Doyen had some advice for them.
“My only advice is to enjoy playing soccer at Pierce while you still have the opportunity to be on a competitive team and play in such an exciting environment,” Doyen said. “Once you graduate and start working, you will miss the days of playing soccer everyday with your friends.”
Jamie Doyen had her lone goal of the season against Mission College. ()