The weather was cold, but the Clovis Crush heated up against the West Valley Vikings from start to finish.
The Clovis Community women’s soccer team hosted West Valley in the first round of the CCCAA Northern California Regional Playoffs and dominated in a 4-0 win on November 20.
The Crush started the game by applying some heavy pressure on the Vikings’ defense, which paid off in the 5th minute. Precious Martinez scored the first goal of the game from a corner kick to give the Crush an early 1-0 lead.
The Vikings were unable to bounce back and started to break down defensively. The Crush forced them to commit an own-goal that gave the Crush a 2-0 lead only 12 minutes into the match. Clovis would keep the ball on West Valley’s side of the field for nearly the entire first half of the match.
In the second half, West Valley came out looking to even the game and match Clovis’ heavy pressure play. However, the Crush kept their foot on the gas and in the 55th minute, Jordyne Puentes scored the third goal of the game with an assist from Karyme Hernandez.
With the game seemingly out of reach, the Crush sealed their win with a dominant play when Julia Avila scored with an assist from Anastasia Blanco in the 89th minute.
With each game being a win-or-go-home situation, the Crush were glad to start the playoffs in front of their home crowd. Head coach Orlando Ramirez was even more excited to win big at home.
“I think getting to play at home is a big deal for us, we love our home crowd,” Ramirez said. “I was very proud of the performance today. The girls came out and they showed a lot of heart. To score four goals against a really good West Valley team and to get the shutout, I’m really happy for them.”
With the next game just around the corner, Ramirez said he will make sure the players are healthy and ready to face a familiar opponent in Folsom Lake College. Clovis Community played Folsom Lake previously on Sept. 10, a match the Crush lost, 1-0.
Ramirez added that Clovis has something to prove against Folsom and that the team is ready for the challenge. Clovis will head on the road to face Folsom on Tuesday, Nov. 23 at 5 p.m.