ON THE MOVE—East Los Angeles College’s Blakeley Ficenec, left, races against Jennifer Vargas from Los Angeles Harbor College, right, before passing the ball to a teammate during a South Coast Conference match at Weingart Stadium Oct. 21. CN/JULIANNE OBREGON
By Cortez Cruz Serrato
The East Los Angeles College women’s soccer team tied Los Angeles Harbor College, 0-0, Oct. 21 at home in Weingart Stadium.
The Huskies did not capitalize on multiple scoring opportunities late in the second half.
As a result they drop to 7-3-3 overall and 4-1-2 in SCC play. ELAC secured possession of the ball for most of the first half, but both teams couldn’t create any good scoring opportunities.
In the second half, the Seahawks had an opportunity to score. In the 51st minute, ELAC goalkeeper Adriana Flores blocked back-to-back shots.
Throughout the game, Harbor’s coaching staff grew frustrated with the referees, which almost led to an ejection. “I thought that the game was a back and forth game. We did feel that we did have a bit of an issue with the refs being one sided but that’s just soccer,” Harbor Head Coach Diego Souza said.
It was not until the 85th minute that ELAC had its best chance to score. An apparent ELAC goal by forward Carla Quijada, one of the state’s leading scorers, was called back by the sideline referee due to an offside.
The win would have jumped ELAC into second place in SCC play. ELAC Head Coach Tessa Troglia said she was disappointed about the tie. She felt that the team did not play its best game.
“Finishing (the game) with a tie, for me I’m not happy. It’s not a good result for us. If we finished our chances it would be a different game,” Troglia said.
Troglia was well aware that Harbor came into the game with the intentions to shut down the Huskies’ offensive attack and the team’s leading scorer, Quijada.
“I think this team (Harbor) came to play. They played to our strength. It hurt us that we didn’t finish our chances,” Troglia said.
Harbor’s defense was able to withstand ELAC’s attack in the second half. ELAC defender Quetzali Del Villa said that the Huskies were surprised by Harbor’s defensive strategy.
“The other team (Harbor) was really defensive, they hardly pushed (the ball). We didn’t expected that so our forwards didn’t press. I think we could have done a better job of pressuring their defense,” Del Villa said.
The Huskies kick off the second half of SCC play tomorrow at Cerritos College (12-1, 6-1), which is ranked No. 1 in the state.
Troglia said that the Huskies have to recognize that in the second half of SCC play that other teams are going to devise a strategy against ELAC’s strengths and weaknesses.
Del Villa also said that his game was a wakeup call. The team has to work harder and improve on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. She also admitted that most of the players on the team, including herself, are nervous for the match against Cerritos, but that hey know they have to go and get a win.
EYE ON THE BALL—Maria Becerra from East Los Angeles College, left, and Dulce Rodriguez from Los Angeles Harbor College, right, fight to gain ball possession during a South Coast Conference match against at Weingart Stadium on Oct. 21 CN/JULIANNE OBREGON
