Despite early setbacks of injuries and a shortage of players,
the soccer team hopes for a good record this year, and to make it
to the Cal-Pac playoffs.
“We’re going to have a really good team this year,” said team
captain, Maliheh Nakahai. “We have some really good talent and seem
to all be working together really well.”
The team has had a tough time throughout the pre-season games as
the injuries continued to mount, and many of the games were a
player short. “It’s rough on each teammate, for when there are no
subs, each person must play the whole 90 minutes of the game,” said
center-mid, Mary Morales.
Thus far, the team played and lost to Southern Oregon University
and Oregon Tech on Sept. 5 and 6. They also lost 1-0 against Menlo
College on Sept. 9. These games were only pre-season and do not
count on their record.
“These games help the team work together and get comfortable
with one another, preparing us for the conference games,” said
Morales.
The team also played a mini-tournament against the UC-Berkeley
club team and Bethany College on Sept. 13. “These games are
shorter, only about an hour long and it’s just a friendly match; we
didn’t even wear our uniforms,” said Nakahai.
They lost to Berkeley, but tied with Bethany 0-0. The second
game was called early because two players were simultaneously
injured on both teams.
The next two pre-season games are on September 16 at 4 p.m.
against Holy Names College and on September 24 at 4p.m. against
Bethany. The team encourages people to come and watch.
The players are also excited for the season to start. Their
first game is against Dominican College on October 4.
“Soccer is a really fun sport and we have four great coaches,”
said Morales. The head coach is Colette Bowler and the assistant
coaches are Leslie Johnson, Lindsay Duckles, and Mike Aquino, who
works with the goalie.
The two other team captains are forward Abbey Paulsonm, and
sweeper Anna Fortner.
“Everyone on soccer team is really easy to get along with and
willing to work hard and put their 110 percent in,” said
Nakahai.
However, the team is down to 12 or 13 people, when a soccer team
generally has 18 players.
“We’re recruiting to get a couple more people and hopefully it
works out and people get healthier,” said
outside-defense/outside-wing Julie Martinez.
