An experienced women’s soccer team has been working for months now, as team members prepare for their 2019 season, in which they look to redeem themselves.
Coming into the 2018 season, the Broncos had high expectations, but their inexperience and injuries throughout the year affected them significantly, leading them to an overall record of 5-9-4, and a conference record of 1-7-4.
One player who sat out most of last season due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) was sophomore Elise Garcia.
According to the second-year defender, this year’s team chemistry is through the roof with beliefs that the team will play with a different mind set than last year.
“I tore my ACL last season, and I just hope to get back into it slowly because I might not be the same player I was last year right away, but I will try to get back to being that player little by little,” Garcia said. “I feel like we are going to play more aggressively and with high intensity this season and our leaders are really motivating, so we’re definitely going to play with a different mind set than last season.”
(Courtesy of CPP Athletic Department)
In 2019, matters look to be completely different for the Broncos who added five new players. But most importantly, the team is now healthy and more experienced than last season.
The additions to the roster were five freshmen: Cassie Snow, Bridgette Carbonneau, Madyson Bennett, Phoebe Amaro and Shelby Jimenez. Also joining the Broncos is Tori Morton, a transfer from the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Division I Seattle University.
“We are going to be healthier than we were last year but I think in the spring the team really came together as far as playing a new formation. They’re excited about it and I think it suits the players that we have better,” head coach Jay Mason said. “The players are more confident now and more prepared for what the demands of the conference are. The group has something to prove, they are a good team that was unfortunate last year with some of the bounces we received but their attitude was always fantastic so that has carried over which is great.”
In the 2018 season, senior forward/midfielder Amanda Duran struggled to stay healthy and as a result wasn’t able to contribute as much as she wished she could have.
But this season, Duran is determined to help the Broncos get back to where they belong, at the top of the CCAA conference.
“I’m looking forward to winning most importantly. Also I want to see the girls’ growth because I’ve known many of them for a long time and many of them have been growing in a positive way,” Duran said. “I hope to score goals and make the girls around me better. Mainly I hope to stay healthy and practice very intensely and look to setting a good example for my teammates.”
The Broncos kick off their preseason on Sept. 5 when they face Point Loma in San Diego at 4:30 p.m.
The Broncos will compete in five preseason games before facing the Cal State San Bernardino Coyotes for their first conference matchup on Sept. 25 at Kellogg Stadium.