The Vaqueros’ women’s soccer team defeated the Allan Hancock Bulldogs with a score of 1-0, on Tuesday Oct. 1. This was a special match at La Playa Stadium, which included a celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.
Cara Christopherson, who scored the only goal of the night, led her team in a competitive match in their first conference game of the season. With both teams running hard, the Vaqueros’ offense had lots of opportunities to score which was met with excellent defense from the Bulldogs.
There were some hard hits and turnovers, but the Vaqueros’ maintained possession throughout the match. About 30 minutes into the first half, a weak pass from the Bulldogs was picked up by the Vaqueros’ offense at half field, and with a pass from teammate Carolina Esparza, Christopherson scored an absolute beauty of a shot from the 25 yard line.
“The most exciting point was scoring the goal, I thought the entire game was really competitive the whole time, both teams worked really hard, but I’m glad we got the win,” Christopherson said.
Her determination and effort was shown the entire game, leading and encouraging her fellow teammates to victory.
Between Sept. 15 and Oct. 15, Hispanic Heritage month is celebrated by communities representing their cultural background. In light of the game day event by Raíces a half time performance was included with local singer Jasmine Barba who performed for the fans in attendance.
The set included two Spanish songs, a piece played on guitar, and a song of her own which she plans to release on all music based platforms. Her talent was appreciated by a lively audience at La Playa, which she expressed much gratitude for.
Audience members held up their flashlights as they sang and danced to the performance. The game moved into the second half with a score of 1-0.
Head Coach Alex Zermeno hopes to keep the momentum going to proceed to their league games.
“Ventura College, Moorpark College, LA Pierce College, they all look good, it’s a good conference, we’re getting ready to compete against those teams,” Zermeno said.
The Vaqueros now hold a 6-2-2 record, with 12 games left in the regular season. They currently stand ranked at No. 5 in California for women’s soccer.
“There’s 24 teams that make it [to playoffs], top 8 get a bye, we want to be in those top eight, and keep our team standard,” Zermeno said.
The Vaqueros plan to continue their drive to the playoffs. They return to La Playa on Tues. Oct. 15 to host the Oxnard College Condors.
Correction: Oct. 8, 2024
An earlier version of this story misstated a section of the game as the “third quarter.” There was no third quarter of the game, and this mistake was made during the copy editing process. The Channels has corrected this error.
