On Tuesday, Oct. 15, the Moorpark College Raiders women’s soccer team welcomed the Cuesta Cougars into town. Coming off a heartbreaking 1-0 loss in Oxnard the previous week, the Raiders needed to win this game to stay over .500 and build momentum for the rest of the season.
From the start of the game, it was clear that the Raiders had the advantage on offense. In the first 15 minutes of the game, the Raiders were able to control the ball while forcing multiple corner and goal kicks on their offensive end.
In the sixth minute, the Raiders were set up for one of these corner kicks. After the ball was put back into play, Lacy Roberts was able to deliver a brilliant strike for the first goal of the game. This was Roberts’s third goal of the season, and her first since her multi-goal game at East Los Angeles on Sept. 3.
It didn’t take very long for another goal. 16 minutes later, Moorpark found the net for the second time. Scoring her third goal in the last three games was Alysa Diaz. Diaz, already pacing the team in goals this season with six, was able to improve her lead over the next-highest teammate to four with her seventh goal of the year. The freshman has been one of the team’s most exciting players to watch on offense and she was able to add yet another great highlight to her season.
The rest of the first half was dictated by strong defensive play from the Raiders. As halftime was approaching, sophomore goalkeeper Emma Ott made an impressive save. Ott gave some insight into her approach when asked about the latest of her 24 saves this season.
“It’s all strategy,” Ott said. “It’s just knowing when to be on my line, knowing when to check off, knowing when to come out, knowing when to jump, knowing when to fall.”
Coming out of the first half with a 2-0 lead, Moorpark was determined to put this one away. Just two minutes into the second half, Diaz thought she had another goal. Unfortunately, this was called back due to offsides and the score remained 2-0. Tensions were starting to boil over and the game began to get chippy. In the span of two minutes, three yellow cards were given out. Two penalties were given to Cuesta players, and one was given to sophomore defender, Kaiya Holts.
Holts made up for this mistake in a quick fashion. Tasked with a corner kick in the 58th minute, Holts drilled it for a Raiders goal. This gave Moorpark a 3-0 lead, and Holts her first goal of the season. When asked about her strategy on the corner kick, Holts discussed her pre-kick thoughts.
“Honestly, just putting the ball in front of the net or in front of the goal to see whoever gets it first, but it went in,” Holts said. “It curved in. So that’s the best possibility.”
The rest of the game consisted of more dominance by the home team. The defense was stout and the offense came close to scoring again on multiple occasions. The game ended with a score of 3-0 in favor of the Raiders. This win pushed the Raiders to 7-5 on the year and 2-3 in conference play.
It was a great bounce-back victory and Coach Kai Werring was thrilled postgame.
“The togetherness of the group,” Werring said. “It’s been a long time coming, and this group, when they’re working together and working for each other, and the morale is good, we can beat anybody.”
Since the Oct. 15 win, the Raiders traveled to Allan Hancock College on Oct.18 and emerged victorious. The Raiders then traveled back home to earn another win against rival Ventura College on Oct. 25. The Raiders will hope to ride this three-win streak momentum as they push through a crucial stretch of conference games.
The Raiders will travel to Santa Barbara City College to take on the Vaqueros in hopes of adding to their winning streak on Oct. 29. For more information on the Moorpark College women’s soccer team, click here.