The Clovis Community College women’s soccer team wrapped up the regular season in blowout fashion – winning 9-0 against Cerro Coso College at home on Friday, Nov. 10.
Elisa Soderholm scored both of her goals in the first half to lead the Crush. The rest of the scorers were: Marie Tejada, Esmeralda Navarro, Audrey Jimenez, Halle Sembritzki, Savannah Dungan and Mariah Caitlin.
The Coyotes only found the net when they recorded an own goal in the second half.
The Crush (15-6-1, 10-1-1) finished second in the Central Valley Conference, behind Fresno City College (21-0-1, 11-0-1).
“We were so close to being co-champions for conference,” Soderholm said. “We worked so hard, but second place is OK. We’re just looking forward to the playoffs.”
The Crush came into the season with only six returners from last year. But it didn’t take long for the team to build chemistry.
“For the girls to be so close and have that camaraderie and excitement for our program, it has been great for me to see as a coach,” CCC head coach Orlando Ramirez said. “I’m excited to see how that continues to develop over the years.”
Ramirez, who worked as an assistant coach at Fresno Pacific for eight years, felt optimistic when he was named head coach at CCC two years ago.
“With the type of talent the Valley has, I knew that we would be able to put together a team that can compete,” Ramirez said. “That was our main goal, to try to compete in our first few years and give ourselves an opportunity to play with the top teams.”
Particularly this season, the team has shown its ability to compete with the top teams. The Crush had one of its most impressive results of the season on Oct. 10, tying Fresno City College 1-1. The Crush also lost 2-1 in a hard-fought match at FCC on Nov. 3.
“We had expectations to put ourselves in a spot for playoffs. We finished second in conference, we finished with 15 wins on the season. It’s a good season,” Ramirez said. “We’re excited for our program and the development that happened in two years.”
With strong chemistry and leadership, the Crush believe that they can make much more noise in the playoffs. CCC goes on the road Saturday to face Santa Rosa in the first round.
“As a captain, I try to be the best leader I can be, show what needs to be done and show what it takes to win those big games,” Soderholm said. “We can do the right things and we can go far. We just need to work hard and we should be fine.”