The Cosumnes River College women’s soccer team won 1-0 on Oct. 28 against the visiting San Joaquin Delta College Mustangs.
Offensive and defensive tactics prevented either team from scoring for most of the game.
CRC focused on being offensive during the first half. However, their attempts to score goals were mostly prevented by overpowering kicks or near saves by Delta sophomore goalkeeper Erikka Diarte.
In the middle of the first half, sophomore forward Melissa Gomez broke through Delta’s defense, and attempted a shot. The ball bounced off Diarte and freshman forward Katie Ulan managed to put the ball in after the rebound.
“We really needed the goal and I just wanted to score it right away,” Ulan said. “It was all about being at the right place at the right time, and it luckily was.”
Both teams played with intensity until the end of the first half.
Both the Hawks and Mustangs exposed holes on defense, allowing for several scoring opportunities for both teams.
In the second half, Delta pressured the Hawks’ defense in an attempt to tie the game.
However, CRC had another scoring opportunity in the middle of the half when sophomore forward Kristen Mickey weaved through the Mustangs’ defense. As Mickey closed in, she collided with Mustangs’ freshman defender Kaela Canales, who was injured on the play and left the game.
Hawks’ freshman forward Jordan Moore was a spotlight during the final half, breaking through Delta’s formations several times and making multiple turnovers.
“Our keepers were very helpful in finding me,” Moore said. “I came into this team to help myself in many things, such as improve my heading, which got a lot better now.”
Even when fatigue was stepping in, the Mustangs were still able to keep up the pressure until the end. However, their persistence was not enough for them to get a goal and tie the game.
The Hawks won their battle against the Mustangs thanks to Ulan’s goal and improved to 12-4-1 this season. CRC has four conference games remaining and are currently in third place in the Big 8, trailing Diablo Valley and Santa Rosa.
Hawks’ head coach Cesar Plasencia said he was impressed by the performance of his team, but hopes to improve in the upcoming games.
“Delta’s a good team that plays hard, which made the game a bit difficult on us,” Plasencia said. “We are still in the race for the Big 8 conference title, which means we have lots of big and difficult games coming ahead.”
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