With a solo goal from freshman defender Erica Lim during second overtime against Modesto Junior College, the Cosumnes River College women’s soccer team secured themselves a spot in the semi-finals on Dec. 5, putting them one game away from competing in the California Community College Athletic Association 2014 State Championship game on Dec. 7.

A 3-1 win over Taft College on Nov. 22 led into the hard-fought battle against Modesto on Nov. 29. With that win over Modesto, the Hawks made it through the third round of the playoffs, the same round where their playoff hopes ended last season.

While the season started out rocky, with the team tying or losing the majority of their first 10 games, as the season progressed their fortunes changed.

“As the season went on, we kind of meshed better as a group and we ended up making it to the final four of the playoffs,” said sophomore midfielder Esperanza Romo.“So we are actually doing really well now.”

Their defense is one of their strong points as well, said Romo.

Freshman forward Kelsey Jantzen said that one of the strong points of the team is their defensive squad.

“Defense gets a lot of shutouts and they have really great forwards up top that can finish” Jantzen said.

With a record of 11-7-6, the Hawks were ranked number 11 in the northern California division of the California Community College Athletic Association, according to a Nov. 7 poll from the California Community College Sports Information Association.

“There are 80 women’s soccer teams in community colleges and there are only four left,” said Hawks head coach Cesar Plasencia. “And we are one of the four that’s left.”

While CRC’s women’s soccer team is usually a contender for the state title, this year is the closest they have been to the title since 2009.

In 2009, the team went to the state finals and they lost to Santiago Canyon, a college in Orange county. That is the same team they are playing this week, Plasencia said.

Romo said there is hope that with their recent performance there is a high chance that many of the current freshman will return next season.

“Since we had a really good turnout this year and we are going far, it pushes them to come back and want to play again,” Romo said.