By Mateo Lopez, Oct. 19, 2021
On Oct. 14, the CPP women’s soccer team defeated area rival Cal State San Bernardino 2-0, securing their first CCAA league win in a shutout victory.
The Broncos broke their winless streak over their last four matches, bringing their current record to 5-4-2 and 1-2-2 in conference play.
According to Head Coach Jay Mason, the Broncos applied their training and maintained confidence in their win.
“Both teams were prepared for the game and that made it difficult, but each team has evolved in different ways so for us to get a win tonight was important for our journey to the conference tournament,” said Mason. “We need to start building some momentum so tonight was the first step.”
The Broncos displayed strong defense, limiting the Coyotes’ scoring opportunities to four shots taken during the match, with only two on goal.
However, the Broncos shifted to an offensive playing strategy later in the game with 11 shots taken.
Senior forward and midfielder Alyssa Larkin scored the first goal for the Broncos after heading the ball off a cross pass from junior forward Taylor Scott.
According to Larkin, her recent goal provided a sense of relief after breaking the team’s goalless streak over the last two games.
“Coming from the scoreless drought, the energy from the team was amazing and I think we were having fun out there so that really helped,” said Larkin. “We usually come out every game and dominate on the offense and get a lot of opportunities but had a struggle in the past couple of games putting them away and today we were able to put them away, so that was really nice and we’re looking to keep that going forward in the coming games.”
After a substitution late in the game, freshman forward Melanie Harradine played a through ball down the middle of the field to senior midfielder Jessica Llamas, creating a one-on-one matchup against Cal State San Bernardino goalkeeper Carly Luna.
For Llamas, the supportive cheers from the rest of the team fueled her drive to score.
“I went in! I actually thought I got a penalty but then I saw the faces of my teammates and they were just cheering me on, and it just made me happy and I got up like, ‘What?’,” said Llamas. “Just having that energy from my teammates helps me and that’s what motivates me to keep pushing on the field,” said Llamas.
The Broncos will head on to a three-game road trip before returning to Kellogg Stadium for an Oct. 29 matchup against Humboldt State.
For more information on the team, visit the CPP Athletics website.
Featured image courtesy of Lyle Ibarra.