The Moorpark College women’s soccer team had high expectations going into their season opener against Irvine Valley College and luckily escaped with a tie after a goal by Taylor Biehl in the 85th minute.
After a dominant 2015 season that ended with a 7-0-3 record and a run in the playoffs, the Lady Raiders look to repeat their success from last year. However, according to Coach Miguel Ruiz, the girls must correct the simple mistakes.
“For our first game of the year, I think we were not kicking on all cylinders,” said Ruiz. “I thought today we made some pretty bad mistakes and what we gave up was just awful.”
Ruiz refers to the goal made by Irvine Valley College with five minutes remaining in the first half. A miscommunication by the lady Raiders on a free kick led to the ball floating right past the goalkeeper, Emilia Feldman. The coach elaborated that the girls were unable to finish out transitions and put themselves in lousy situations.
The Raiders got off to strong start and controlled most of the field during the game, but were unable to capitalize. Ruiz looks forward to team building chemistry as the season continues and wins will eventually materialize from their hard work.
“We got to take it one step at a time,” said Ruiz. “We got a lot of new players here and they are trying to get used to the system. Hopefully, we have a good season and everything takes care of itself.”
Scoring the lone goal for the Raiders, Taylor Biehl, 18-year-old nursing major, realizes they must improve and those pesky early season jitters may have gotten the best of them.
“We came out really anxious and nervous,” said Biehl. “So a little sloppy in the beginning, but we’re figuring it out.”
Biehl explains that the team’s goal is to win their conference, go to the state playoffs, and bring back a ring for Moorpark. Overall, the women’s soccer team appreciates the start of a new season and are excited to be playing once again.
“I’m glad we were able to get out here and start playing games after all our hard work and practices,” said Biehl.
The Raiders play their next two games at Ventura College on Sept. 1 against Rio Hondo, and Sept. 3 against Fresno in the Nike Community College Showcase.
