Brandie Harris set the City College scoring record in the final soccer game of the regular season in a 7-0 romp of Allan Hancock College Friday afternoon at La Playa Stadium.
Harris notched her fifth hat trick of the season in a span of six minutes en route to breaking Jessica Dominchelli’s all-time City College mark of 27 goals in a season in 2011.
Harris’s teammates congratulated her and shouts of “Number one!” could be heard from the Vaqueros (12-5-2 overall, 8-2-2 conference) bench. As the announcer at La Playa announced she had broken the record, the sparsely populated crowd gave Harris a nice round of applause.
“When I scored I was like ‘yes, I have it now,’” said Harris. “I was so stressed in the locker room, I was shaking.”
The Vaqueros dominated the game from the opening kick off, scoring six goals in the first 20 minutes of the game. Brianna Lopez (No. 21) began the onslaught of Hancock (3-15-3 overall, 1-10-1 conference) with a goal off a corner kick from Samantha Maxwell (No. 24) seven minutes into the game.
Lopez went on to add another goal a few minutes later off of a cross by Lauren Dickson (No. 14). Dickson finished the day with one goal and two assists. Freshman Gianna Zembo (No. 3) scored her first goal of the season 10 minutes before halftime as the Vaqueros led 7-0.
Harris, the states third leading scorer, was pulled with 20 minutes left in the first half as the game was already well out of reach for visiting Hancock. She shared a special embrace at halftime with her family sitting in the stands including her grandfather who was diagnosed with cancer earlier in the year.
“My papa, I had to go see him,” said Harris. “He’s the one I played for this year so I owe it all to him.”
Sophomore goalkeeper, Brianna Robinson (No. 1), came up big midway through the first half with a diving stop from a close range shot. Robinson’s family, from Arizona, made the trip out to see what could possibly be her last game at La Playa Stadium.
Sophomores Lopez, Maxwell, Robinson, Harris, Sonja Gustavsson and Heather Rivera were presented with roses from their families and friends on the field before the game began.
“That’s great for Brandie,”said head coach John Sisterson about Harris’ record. “Her family, grandparents and parents have been here supporting her and I’m delighted for her.”
City College, ranked number 17 in the state, entered the game in third place in the Western State Conference North behind Ventura College and L.A. Pierce. It’s likely the Vaqueros will be headed to playoffs but official word doesn’t come until Monday, Nov. 18.
“We’ve got to work on a lot of things still,” said Sisterson. “We have to keep focus and treat every game as it comes.”
