Women Headed to Playoffs

Photo by Santiago Mejia/The guardsman

By Michael Hall

The Guardsman
City College women’s soccer team wrapped up their regular season on Nov. 9 by beating conference rival Skyline 1-0. The Rams ended their season with six straight wins.

The Rams finished their strong regular season with an overall record of 15-1-2 and a Coast Conference record of 11-1-1. They will enter the 2012 Norcal playoffs ranked fifth in the state.

Although the Rams dominated the majority of the teams on their schedule, they struggled on offense throughout their regular season finale. Rams head coach Gabe Saucedo expected a hard fought game.

“They always play us tough and motivated,” Saucedo said. “We had a little trouble moving the ball and creating angles, but we won on both sides of the field today.”

Freshman forward Danyelle Perez scored the game’s only goal in the first half.

The game was delayed twice in the second half due to injuries, but both players walked off the field without assistance.

The Trojans, who could not find a way to get the ball through the Rams defense, lost to the Rams for the second time this season.

Rams sophomore defender and team captain Juliet Murray spoke about the game and the team’s thoughts about the playoffs.

“I knew we would come out and play hard right away, and they played pretty well,” Murray said. “We have confidence right now, but we’re not coming into the playoffs thinking we’re the team to beat.”

For Saucedo, staying mentally tough is a big factor to winning a championship in any team sport, and he is sure his team has this strong mentality this year.

“Every year the teams have their own personality, and this year’s team gives a different vibe, and they’ve been a lot of fun to coach all year,” he said.

It’s hard to duplicate what this year’s team has done in the regular season. The Rams finished 9-1 in division games, beat defending state champion Santa Rosa Junior College in week 3, allowed one goal in their last five games, and have not lost since Sept. 28.

The Rams will have a bye in this year’s playoffs, which gives plenty of time to game plan and rest players.