Corsairs Shutout the Marauders on Sophomore Night
Santa Monica, Calif. — On Thursday, Nov. 15, the Santa Monica College (SMC) Corsairs women’s soccer team played against the Antelope Valley College Marauders at Corsair Stadium.
After the game ended, the whole Corsairs women’s soccer players were left in jubilation as they celebrated over winning the Conference title. The Corsairs women’s soccer players sprayed their water on each other and hugged one another.
Their conference standing leaves them with impressive achievements, having won 10 conference matches, tied three games, and lost one. The team celebrated sophomore night with their families, who greeted them with flowers.
Each sophomore player received a white flower as their name was mentioned. They walked together with their families and friends in a straight line in front while being surrounded by both players and other families in two lines between the sophomores. The sophomores thanked and hugged their coaches.
“It was really rewarding,” said Corsair captain and defender Jessica Narez. “I thought about all the times that we had 8 a.m. training and all the times that we had (to) sacrifice thing(s) so it just felt like it was all worth it.”
“I feel amazing,” said Corsair captain and defender Izzy Turner. “I feel so happy and like all the work that we put in since June has really just paid off. And to add it on top to sophomore night, I think that it was honestly the best night that it could have been. And I feel super happy and super excited heading into the playoffs.”
The first half of the game opened with the Corsairs maintaining possession of the ball. Corsairs’ defender Carmen Talavera passed to Turner as the Marauders got a turnover from their midfielder Brianna Montes De Oca. However, the Marauders lost possession of the ball.
The Corsairs were able to take control of the field. The Corsairs lost possession of the ball for a moment but gained it again with Talavera passing to Corsairs’ forward Zuleyka Ortiz. However, the Marauders were able to turnover the ball, shutting out the Corsairs’ chance of passing.
Marauders’ defender Brooklyn Berger kicked a lofted ball that left the Marauders in control of the game. However, Narez intercepted and stopped the opponent's ball.
The Corsairs successfully scored their first goal thanks to Ortiz. After the Corsairs gained possession from the Marauders, Corsair forward Valeria Romo and Marauder defender Abigail Halter brawled for the ball. The Corsairs succeeded in taking the ball, ending the second half with another score by Corsairs’ midfielder Jacibe Martinez (2-0).
In the second half, Ortiz started off with possession. The Corsairs had the ball but it went out of bounds, giving the Marauders control of the game.
However, this didn’t stop the Corsairs, as their forward Jacky Hernandez passed to Ortiz, allowing her to score another goal. The Corsairs kept the lead, leaving the score 3-0.
Later on, Romo tussled it out with Halter leading her to shoot and score (4-0). In the last minutes, a penalty kick was given to Hernandez which led to another Corsair goal, ending the match (5-0).
“I think I feel really good because I had an injury last year and it took me so much to recover. So I think confidence was a really big show for me, and just playing with this team and the momentum they had and everything,” said Hernandez. “I think I just stepped up to the occasion and it felt good to score in that moment now.”
With this win, the Corsairs will be moving on to playoffs. “I think our team is ready,” said Hernandez. “Like, this is what we were here for. We wanted that back-to-back conference and I think our work is not done here. So we're gonna keep pushing ourselves to our limit and we're gonna give it our all in playoffs.”
“Yeah, it was really amazing. I'm so proud of all the girls and we've come a long way this season,” said Corsair goalie Jacinda Hevesy-Rodriguez. “So I'm just really proud of all of us. And it was super exciting to get a shoutout on our sophomore night to really honor our sophomores, because they really deserve it. They've worked so hard and a lot of them are their back-to-back champions now, so conference champions. So I'm super proud of them and I'm so happy.”
The Corsairs defeated the Marauders 5-1 in the first round of the 3C2A playoffs. The Corsairs travel to Chula Vista on Saturday, Nov. 23 to take on Southwestern College.