Santa Rosa Junior College women’s soccer team put on an amazing performance Oct. 14 giving Diablo Valley College it’s first loss of the season. Both teams came out playing hard to score the first goal.
“We’ve always had trouble playing against DVC,” said goalkeeper Ally Milone. “This is my third year playing and we’ve only beaten them one other time.”
DVC attacked early with intensity pushing the ball near scoring position, but the Bear Cubs back line showed their strength in protecting their goal.
“There were times when we couldn’t get the ball away from the goal,” said defender Lexi Martinez. “But we fought hard to defend our goal and we did it well.”
Twelve minutes into the first half forward Amanda Galbraith scored the Bear Cubs’ first goal with an assist from defender Megan Stavish.
“Like always they were yanking on my arms and pulling my jersey,” Galbraith said. “I knew I had to fight through it and stay calm. I saw the goalie come out, and when I got the ball, I sent it to the back of the net.”
DVC came back playing hard against the Bear Cubs and answered with a goal in the 36th minute.
“Their forward was really fast, and at times it was difficult keeping up with her,” said midfielder Maleni Avalos. “She was a lot faster than me, so I relied on my back field to make sure I knew what was going on.”
The Bear Cubs showed no signs of giving up, with Galbraith taking control and scoring her second goal with an assist from forward Kaleigh Alves.
This put the Bear Cubs up by one at half.
“Kaleigh played a perfect ball towards me,” Galbraith said. “And I knew I had to deflect it into the goal. No power, just finesse right into the back of the net.”
In the second half, both teams came out playing hard. DVC was determined to score and put the Bear Cubs on the defense, protecting their goal.
DVC attempted to score several times but the Bear Cubs’ defense kept the ball out of their net.
“They were trying really hard to go through our defense and score that last goal to tie the game,” said midfielder Pricilla Villalobos. “But our defense was too strong.”
SRJC was up 2-1 with 10 minutes left. Their composure could of been better with keeping possession and keeping the ball more on their opponent’s side of the field.
The Bear Cubs defense played hard until the whistle blew. They kept DVC from scoring in the second half.
“We knew it was going to be a 90-minute battle,” said head coach Crystal Howard. “They’ve been having a hell of a year as well and we knew it was going to be a battle and we came up on top.”
SRJC faces San Joaquin Delta College on the road at 4 p.m. on Oct.25.
