Pioneer women fall short on Senior Day
October 30, 2014
The Cal State East Bay Pioneers women’s soccer team fell to the visiting Cal State Los Angeles Golden Eagles by a score of 4-0 on Sunday. This was the last home game for eight Pioneer seniors.
The loss dropped the Pioneers overall record to 6-9-2 and 3-7 in conference play. The Golden Eagles improved their record to 14-1-2 and 9-0-1 in conference play.
The Pioneers were expecting a tough matchup against the first place LA team. The Golden Eagles clinched first place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association standings and are currently ranked seventh in Division II soccer nationwide.
“I think it was hard-fought,” said Pioneer forward Alyssa Rodriguez. “They are ranked in the nation and they’re undefeated, so, we went in knowing that it was going to be a rough game.”
We could’ve been a little more disciplined in defending.
— Gerace
In the first half, the Pioneers limited the Golden Eagles’ relentless offense to two goals. The Golden Eagles dominated ball possession and put 12 shots on goal compared to the Pioneers’ two.
LA’s midfielder Heather Williams on a penalty kick following a yellow card foul by Pioneer defense player Victoria Serna scored the first goal. The second goal was scored with just under a minute left to play in the first half on a header by LA’s midfielder Andrea Lammers.
In the second half, the Pioneers out-shot the Golden Eagles seven to six. The Pioneers were able to put together more opportunities to score but were not able to capitalize on their chances. A couple of defensive miscues by the Pioneers led to breakaway one-on-one opportunities for LA.
One of these miscues led to a goal by Golden Eagles forward Amalia Arvidsson. LA’s Sahar Arghandiwal scored the last goal on a loose ball off a corner kick.
“We could’ve been a little more disciplined in defending,” Pioneer head coach Amy Gerace said. “LA is obviously a very, very strong team and they are at the top of the conference and it shows. They are athletic and talented. They’re going to find opportunities to win their one-on-one battles and they did that today.”
This was the final home game of the season for the Pioneers. The game marked Senior Day, honoring the Pioneer seniors who will be ending their collegiate soccer careers after the season. Before the game, the team’s eight departing seniors walked out to the center of the field with their families to be recognized.
Those seniors included goalkeeper Briana Scholtens, forward Alyssa Rodriguez, defender Sara Yamasaki, forward Rachel Armstrong, forward Bekah Anderson, midfielder Ariana Gordon, midfielder Kendra Trifonovitch, and defender Kelley Brown.
Coach Gerace said that the leadership of team captain Ariana Gordon and forward Rachel Armstrong will be greatly missed. She expects the strong backfield core led by freshman Janelle Herrera and junior Laura McIntosh to fill leadership roles next season.
“We have some key players leaving, but we also have a lot of younger players that have stepped it up pretty big time this season and will continue to develop in the offseason,” said Gerace.
Many of the seniors on the team will pursue graduate programs and will leave competitive soccer. Anderson is going for a master’s degree in liberal studies to be a teacher.
Rodriguez is looking for a credential program in either dentistry or radiology. Gordon, however, plans to travel to Europe and continue to play soccer abroad.
The Pioneers will not be participating in postseason play this year. They have a final game left to play in Turlock against the Cal State Stanislaus Warriors on Thursday Oct. 30 at 7 p.m.
