The early season offensive struggles by Moorpark are now an afterthought as they continue to win games in a dominating fashion.
The Raiders won 5-1 against conference foe Oxnard College on Friday night, furthering an incredible streak dating back to September 16.
Ever since the loss against Pierce, the team has won nine out of 11 games, with the other two games ending in ties. The Raiders no longer worry about getting offense going and are scoring consistently every game.
After an awful mistake that led to an unassisted Oxnard goal just a few minutes into the game, the team quickly regained their composure and took control for the remainder of the match. The first Raider to score was Breanna Pilkington as she took a corner kick pass from teammate Haley Wargo and knocked the ball into the net. Moorpark would strike again before halftime, going into the break with a 2-1 lead.
Following intermission, Moorpark furthered the aggression. Madison Murray scored in the 50th after a long pass from Kelsea Matthews. Then, Murray helped increase the lead with back to back assists to Taylor Biehl and Danielle Boggess.
With the game all but in the 76th minute, an Oxnard goalkeeper and Moorpark midfielder Amanda King collided. King remained down on the field for about ten minutes and eventually had to be carted off. Although the injury looked severe, Coach Ruiz stated she suffered a non-serious lower back injury and would be fine. Shortly after, the Oxnard goalkeeper checked out of the game due to the after effects of the impact.
The string of injuries continued as Oxnard lost another player. Unfortunately, the player was carted off and taken to the hospital via ambulance.
Moorpark remains in a first place tie with Ventura College as both teams possess a 5-0-1 record in conference play. Ruiz understands that being at the top comes with adversity. Moreover, with only four games left in the regular season the Raiders hope to finish strong.
“Every game is going to [be] tough and we have to respond because every team is going to bring their best effort against us,” said Ruiz.
The Raiders face Cuesta and Allan Hancock in their upcoming games while trying to keep a zero in the loss column.
Moorpark will play Ventura on Nov. 8 at 6 p.m. in a match that will likely determine the winner of the conference and who will hold home field advantage in the playoffs.
