Lady Corsairs Attain Coveted Glory

It took time, effort and sacrifice to make a mark in school history. For Santa Monica College, history was made after a dominating a 7-0 win against the West Los Angeles Wildcats at West L.A. College on Nov. 3, 2017.

The Santa Monica Corsairs Women's Soccer team earned their first State Conference South Division crown in program history.

This moment comes with a feat of the team winning nine consecutive games, outscoring the opposition 47-3 in that span, attaining an overall record of 15-3-2, and going 8-0 against conference opponents.

All of this comes under the tutelage of Head Coach Aaron Benditson, who was filled with emotion during the moment his team won the division crown for the first time ever.

"It's a great feeling" Benditson said. "We're an extremely ambitious, hard-working group ... I feel that a conference championship was very deserving of that."

Benditson is in his tenth season as the head coach of a Women's soccer team. He came to SMC in 2005 where he first became the women's head coach and was the Western State Conference and Southern Regional Coach of the Year. He took a hiatus to be an assistant coach at Cal Poly Pomona for two years before returning to SMC in 2015.

When asked about how he was able to put a core group consisting of Daysi Serrano, Josseline Espinoza, and Filippa Struxsjo, together, Benditson said, "What's very unique about Santa Monica College that's different from anybody else, is that it's such a micro-chasm of different cultures and people. With that you bring those elements together, create a culture to establish excellence, and I think you can have something very unique."

Daysi Serrano, the team leader in goals with 15, describes the atmosphere and chemistry she has with her teammates. "We try to talk to each other, and motivate each other, and be there any way we can. We have dinner, or we do team activities like go to the beach, or pumpkin carving for Halloween, things like that to get together."

Coach Benditson has a theme for his team: "Honest and hard-working" Benditson said. "If they commit themselves to something, and they're honest about their work-rate, honest about their commitment, and they're willing to work harder than anyone else, you're gonna have success. I think those are life attributes that will serve you very well. I believe that things will happen for those types of people."

When asked about the competition in the playoffs, Coach Benditson said, "My philosophy is take it one game at a time, and you can't look too far beyond that especially in the playoffs...We've conducted ourselves in a way throughout the whole year, preparing them with video clips and analysis. Just putting it out there for the global group and for them to take to it as they see fit, is important."

Throughout this season, the Woman's Soccer team has shown that the bond they share with each other, and for the game of soccer, has lead them to this point. This historical win, along with their current record, has guaranteed the team a spot in the playoffs, which will begin on Saturday, Nov. 18. Time and location will later be determined.