Santa Rosa Junior College’s women’s soccer team lost 4-1 against an aggressive Sierra College on Oct. 15 at the Petaluma Community Sports field.
SRJC midfielder Abria Brooker was the sole scorer for SRJC, with a long shot into the goalie’s net during the second half.
Sierra College’s forward, Amber Pon, scored the match’s first goal during the first half of the game. Center Pauline Caja Duran scored the team’s second goal, forward Charity Myers scored the third goal and defender Hannah Zieour ended the game with the fourth goal.
A steady start to the match, possession of the ball was evenly divided between the two teams. Things started heating up after a yellow card was given to Sierra center Alyssa Grano. Heavy on the attack, Sierra managed to enter the Bear Cubs’ fields and after a couple of shots, including one being blocked with a header by defender Dominique Garzoli, Pon scored the first goal of the game, ending the first half of the match.
In the beginning of the second half, possession of the ball favored Sierra College, whose players once again relied heavily on attack. SRJC midfielder Abria Brooker was able to manage a shot at the Sierra goalkeeper, who blocked the charge quickly and countered with a long pass that culminated with a second goal for Sierra. Sierra’s playing style was aggressive and also gave way to another yellow card against Sierra’s forward Sheare Ford Barrera after trading a couple of words with Brooker.
After the game, Bear Cubs Coach Crystal Chaidez discussed the opponents’ aggressive playing style. “I think we started off strong. At halftime I told them we need to stop giving them so much respect and step up and not play scared,” she said.
Looking toward future games, Chaidez and the team will work on “defending for our life inside the box and the mentality of that.”
The Bear Cubs’ next game will be against Cosumnes River College at 4 p.m. Oct. 19 at the Petaluma Community Sports Fields.
