Women's soccer goes one and done
The Lady Corsairs' spectacular 2010 season amounted to an advantageous first-round home game to start the playoffs last Saturday, but the Ladies surprised many by taking the loss and thereby abruptly ending their run into the postseason. Unable to score a goal, the Corsairs were defeated in a gritty battle that ended 1-0 in favor of the visiting El Camino College Warriors.
Both teams came out of the locker room strong, looking to play to win, and more importantly, advance.
Standout sophomore Mercy Tejada came out of the gates with a great opportunity on goal, but saw her shot miss wide just past the post.
Compared to previous matches in which SMC coasted to the finish line with a barrage of goals, this game sported an alternate storyline, and the Corsairs found it harder to break the deadlock in the face of the Warrior defense.
Sophomore Kiki Wilson scored for El Camino in the 27th minute off of a well-worked cross to put the Corsairs at an early disadvantage.
This in turn forced SMC to play harder and stronger after the conceded goal, and shortly after they attempted a corner kick that touched almost everybody before anti-climactically heading out for a goal kick.
Despite a defensive holdout of the remainder of the match, and plentiful opportunities on goal by Tejada and freshman Sarah Barrington, the Corsairs could not score.
These missed chances made digesting the crude end to the season upon the final whistle even tougher for the talented Corsair squad.
"We dominated in every phase of the game, except for the one that matters most!" said head coach Aaron Benditson. "Soccer is a funny and unrelenting game in that way. The better team doesn't always win the game," he said.
Although the scoreboard showed failure, the season was decorated with the most wins for the soccer program in the past decade as they went 11-2-1 in the Conference and 12-4-5 overall.
Benditson and assistant coaches Tim Pierce and Patrick Seymour produced a working system within their program, which sheds light on what they can do as a unit and how efficiently they can maximize the potential talent on their squad.
Coach Benditson added, "Personally, the best part for me was seeing this group improve throughout the season. It truly was amazing to watch this group of young adults commit themselves to becoming what I believe to be one of the top teams in the state. The low of course was that our run had to end a bit abruptly because I felt we had a lot more soccer in us to show," he said.
The season came to an end this past Saturday night, but these girls proved all doubters wrong and won the hearts of many fans including myself with their riveting skills, inspiring passion, and commanding determination.
"This group of young women have been an absolute pleasure and joy to coach and we as a coaching staff will always have fond memories of the 2010 season," said Benditson.
El Camino may officially be called the ‘Warriors', but these Lady Corsairs are the true warriors looking back in terms of their thirst for victory.
The prestige of the program has vastly benefited from the outstanding season put on by the girls, and the program will continue to garner attention in the years to come under the current experienced staff.
"Our expectations for next year are no different," said Benditson.
"We always are striving for success and striving to achieve more then what we had achieved the year before," he said. "As a program, we have put ourselves on the map and intend to stay there for years to come."