The Ventura College Pirates were knocked off their ship and forced to jump into the sea of elimination, joining the other eighty-four teams that were dealt the same fate in Friday’s CCCAA State Final Four.
The Pirates women’s soccer team (19-4-1) certainly battled their way to the State Final Four, winning two games in overtime during the first and second round to put themselves in position for a trip to state semifinal.
Pirates head coach Steve Hoffman believes that the journey itself is something to be proud of, and to have the ability to make it this deep into the playoffs.
“I tell these players it’s the journey that counts, it’s not necessarily the destination,” he said. “We’ve had a great journey and lost to a very, very good team at home.”
However, the journey the Pirates embarked on soon ended when they were knocked out of their first State Final Four appearance in the program’s 14-year history with a 3-0 loss to Consumnes River College Friday morning.
The Pirates were able to control the ball movement early, on a couple of great feeds from midfielder Jazmarae Strozier to forward Alyssa McDonald. Despite some close looks, the Pirates were unable to capitalize offensively, which proved to be the weak focal point.
The Hawks (16-4-4) soon controlled the tempo of the game, and the Pirates even got a lucky break when goalkeeper Adilene Pimental went for a ball out of the box, leaving an empty net open for the Hawks. A Hawks’ forward headed the ball in, only to have it bounce off the top post.
Despite dodging a bullet, the Hawks’ offensive push proved to be too much when freshman forward Dani Arellano slipped a shot past Pimental in the 35th minute to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead.
Trailing 1-0 at halftime, the Pirates could not find an offensive rhythm, and the Hawks continued to control possession. The Pirates started to play choppy, getting a yellow card inside the box in the 72nd minute.
The Hawks’ Madelyn Roberts then converted on the penalty kick, to put the game out of reach at 2-0.
Sophomore midfielder Arrianna Fragoso added insult to injury with a meaningless goal in the 86th minute.
Hoffman mentioned how difficult it was to win on the road, and how his team has struggled to win away from home in the playoffs the past couple of years.
“My team has lost every road game in the playoffs,” he said. “It’s very hard to win on the road.”
The Pirates relied on Strozier throughout the year offensively, but the Hawks defense was able to shut her down.
Strozier might have not been able to help the Pirates offensively, but she remained proud of her teammates’ deep run this postseason.
“We’re proud of what we have accomplished and how far we got this time,” Strozier said, “…and just bring it back next year and come out stronger.”
