The Women’s Soccer team played the Sierra College Wolverines and won due to a penalty kick shootout 4-3, after the game went into overtime on Wednesday.

It was a struggle for the Hawks in the first half. Both teams worked hard to get past each other’s defense, so the possession of the ball changed teams multiple times. The Wolverines’ aggressive offensive strategy allowed them to make a goal early.

“There was nothing easy about today’s game,” Head Coach Cesar Plascenia said. “Sierra plays hard and they are always gonna give you their best, so you have to find a way to match up.”

The Hawks defense rallied together to stop the Wolverines from scoring another goal, keeping the score 0-1 for the rest of the first half.

The Hawks were able to shut down the Wolverine’s attempts to score due to players like sophomore goalkeeper Zara Mujica and freshman defender Nichole Morris playing aggressive.

Morris said that she feels her fellow defenders were doing well and creating a barricade against the Wolverines.

“I feel like we definitely were a unit and defending as a whole,” Morris said. “We were communicating really effectively. We knew where to go and we definitely created a wall for our goalie.”

Mujica said that the Hawks and Wolverines have “always been really big rivals, so we knew that we had to step up if we wanted to reach the finals.”

Mujica said that the game was emotionally taxing and that she had issues with staying calm.

“It was hard to stay composed since the game was super stressful,” Mujica said. “Overall I think it was a really exciting experience, but it was not an easy game. We had to work for it.”

The struggle over the ball stretched into the second half, as both teams were unable to make progress offensively. For the majority of the second half, the score was 0-1 until the Wolverines made an own goal which gifted the Hawks a point. This brought the score to 1-1.

As the game went on without either side being able to score, penalty kicks decided the winner. Both the Wolverines and the Hawks were able to score, but the Hawks closed out the game 4-3.

Assistant Coach Josh Shockley said he was happy their good defense played a key part in their victory.

“It’s been a great year for our team,” Shockley said. “We are great defensively with a great goalkeeper. Every game has been tight in a fight, but we went undefeated in the league going to the championship game and I could not ask for more.”

The Championship game against Santa Rosa Junior College is on Friday at Cosumnes River College at 3pm.