The College of the Canyons Cougars defeated the Moorpark Raiders 4-1 in a women’s soccer game where the Cougars controlled the tempo for most of the matchup.

The Raiders came into this Sept. 14 home game looking to build off of their previous performance, a 2-0 win vs. Pasadena City. But, the Cougars dominated throughout the whole game, especially in the first half; and their defense was aggressive in pursuit of keeping the Raiders from scoring.

Cougars’ goalie Zoe MacDonald had a stellar performance, allowing only one goal and saving multiple tough shots.

“I think defending, we did really good keeping our mans marked, keeping one on the forward and maintaining where we need to be and keeping our lines together,” stated MacDonald. “Staying aggressive and limiting the shots on goal helped a lot, as well.”

The Cougars’ offense was also dominant, considering they were able to score two goals early-on in the first half. This set the pace for the rest of the game, as they were able to rack up two more goals in the second half. The Raiders were unable to take control.

The Raiders were, for the most part, on the defensive side of play, but they showed a lot of hustle to take advantage of the few goal-scoring opportunities they were given. Freshman forward Mia Nilsen-Aguilar was able to secure an impressive goal off of a free-kick in the final minutes of the game.

“Ever since I was little, I’ve always had a ‘never give up until the final whistle blows’ mentality, and I tried to relay that to the other girls as the game was winding down,” stated Nilsen-Aguilar.

After the game, Raiders coach Kai Werring reflected on the importance of keeping a team focused after a tough loss like this.

“The most important thing is that we can learn from these kinds of games and situations,” said Werring. “We did fight hard and I liked our physicality; the scoreline doesn’t reflect it. I think the most important thing is if they can as a group come together and just learn from these kind of games.”