Hawks lose championship in tight finish
Pete Johnson
Issue date: 12/3/09 Section: Sports
Cosumnes River College hosted the State Soccer Championship Tournament for community colleges on Sunday. The women's team was able to play the championship game at home. They earned the #1 seed for Northern California.
The Hawk's opponent was Santiago Canyon from the San Diego area -- the #1 seed from the South Region and the top ranked team in the country.
Hopes were high for the Hawks, who in previous years had never made it this far in the tournament. They were playing for a trophy -- bragging rights and the whole ball of wax goes with it.
The Hawks gave a valiant and emotional effort, but they came out on the short end of a 1-0 score.
Santiago Canyon finished off their nearly perfect season with the hard fought victory, as they ended up with a 23-0-2 record with their last tie coming Sept. 22.
There is no shame in losing to a team with such accomplishments.
"My girls played their hearts out today," Big 8 Conference Co-Coach the Year Cesar Plasencia said. "They gave it all they had, left it all out on the field. We lost to a very worthy opponent."
Santiago Canyon was first on the attack firing away. The Hawk's were up to the challenge as they once again played stellar defense.
Led by 1st Team All Big 8 defenders Maddy Roberts, Becky Gallo and Erika Anguiano, the Hawks found an answer to hold off scoring threats. The defense was short-handed as they were playing without the services of Big 8 Defensive Player of the Year Bianca Palomera. She was lost to a leg injury in Friday's semi-final 3-0 victory over Ventura.
Gallo saved a goal five minutes into the contest with a perfectly executed slide-tackle and goaltender Veronica Caballero made three difficult stops in the early going.
The Hawk's offense was equally being held at bay as well.
A give and go effort between Big 8 Conference Most Valuable Player Dani Arellano and Anguiano was denied. Nydia Ramos, 1st team All Big 8 forward, advanced the ball all the way up the field eluding four defenders along the way only to see her shot go wide left.
The Hawk's opponent was Santiago Canyon from the San Diego area -- the #1 seed from the South Region and the top ranked team in the country.
Hopes were high for the Hawks, who in previous years had never made it this far in the tournament. They were playing for a trophy -- bragging rights and the whole ball of wax goes with it.
The Hawks gave a valiant and emotional effort, but they came out on the short end of a 1-0 score.
Santiago Canyon finished off their nearly perfect season with the hard fought victory, as they ended up with a 23-0-2 record with their last tie coming Sept. 22.
There is no shame in losing to a team with such accomplishments.
"My girls played their hearts out today," Big 8 Conference Co-Coach the Year Cesar Plasencia said. "They gave it all they had, left it all out on the field. We lost to a very worthy opponent."
Santiago Canyon was first on the attack firing away. The Hawk's were up to the challenge as they once again played stellar defense.
Led by 1st Team All Big 8 defenders Maddy Roberts, Becky Gallo and Erika Anguiano, the Hawks found an answer to hold off scoring threats. The defense was short-handed as they were playing without the services of Big 8 Defensive Player of the Year Bianca Palomera. She was lost to a leg injury in Friday's semi-final 3-0 victory over Ventura.
Gallo saved a goal five minutes into the contest with a perfectly executed slide-tackle and goaltender Veronica Caballero made three difficult stops in the early going.
The Hawk's offense was equally being held at bay as well.
A give and go effort between Big 8 Conference Most Valuable Player Dani Arellano and Anguiano was denied. Nydia Ramos, 1st team All Big 8 forward, advanced the ball all the way up the field eluding four defenders along the way only to see her shot go wide left.
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