On the heels of a strong win over Mendocino College on October 24th the Los Medanos College Mustangs women’s soccer team they faced the College of Marin Mariners, and grabbed a 1-0 victory that has cemented them in the second-place spot in the Bay Valley Conference.

Marin started the game with ball, however, from that point it was off to the races for the Mustangs. The Mariners came out slow and unprepared as the Stangs took every offensive opportunity away and to put pressure on the defense to give them the early advantage.

 That advantage gave the LMC offense more than one goal-scoring opportunity in the early parts of the first half. However, the Mariner’s goalie was there to stop score, but every time there was a stop, however LMC would get the ball right back as Marin had no tempo on offense, and struggled to challenge the Mustang defense.

The fast-paced tempo of the Mustangs on both offense and defense was the highlight of Friday’s game. In the first half there were many key stops that eliminated scoring opportunities for Marin as LMC goalie Norma Jara Ruiz and right winger Hannah Walker put on a defensive display that ultimately turned into more opportunities for the Stangs to put away the game early on.

But, Marin’s goalie Shanan Daly, had no intentions of letting the Mustangs score as she recorded 11 saves in the game overall. However, for a goalie to have that many saves speaks volumes about how many times the Stangs had the ball on offense, as they kept finding holes to create opportunities to score.

In the first half, LMC had the upper hand going into half time with numerous scoring opportunities on offense but could show nothing for it as the clock wound down and the teams went into halftime.

The Mustangs looked frustrated they couldn’t put together a goal-scoring play. However, after the team talked strategy for the second half team members looked determined to score and put away the game early in the second half. “The coaches told us to play like it’s our last game. They really motivated us because this was a game we couldn’t lose”, said 1st captain Vanessa Kualapai.

That determined mentality led to a high-energy start to the second half, and the LMC offense came out even stronger and faster than they did in the first. On the opposite side of the ball it seemed as if Marin was also able to work out the kinks and they began with a rejuvenated offense and defense, as the game turned into a battle.

It was back-and-forth, and the fast tempo of the game didn’t seem like it would let up any time soon. However, as much as Marin’s offense and defense were faster than the in first half, but it seemed as if the Mustangs were running them out of energy as the game wound on.

Second captain Autumn Kish, was one of the key factors on defense in the 2nd half and explained how the team fought together to keep the Mariners scoreless.

“We’ve been doing very well lately, our team chemistry has been huge, she said. “We’ve been passing the ball around and it felt as if the ball was on our half of the field most of the game.”

At the same time, however, many of the offensive opportunities the Mustangs offense tried to initiate were met with good stops from the Marin goalie.

But, in the closing minutes of the game as midfielder Sydney Torrano scored to put LMC ahead.

“I was just thinking about the three I missed before I scored, and I told myself I need this one, and just tried to watch the ball and relax, and once it went in I was juiced”, said Torrano.

Ultimately, that was the blow that ended the game as the Mustangs came out on top in the battle against Marin 1-0.

Assistant Coach Shaun Chapman said, the team has steadily improved this season, “I think the girls are really jelling right now”, he said.

Since Friday’s game against the College of Marin the Mustangs have put together a four game win streak with two victories. The first win this week came on Monday, October 30, against Yuba College when they took the game 3-0. And the Stang’s took that momentum on Tuesday, October 31, to Napa Valley College as they thrashed the Storm 4-1.

Vanessa Kualapai said, “The key aspect has been the motivation as a team we have to finish 2nd. The confidence level is very high, we know we have to win the last three games to reach our goal.”

The next time the Mustangs take the field will be again today at Merritt College where they will put their four games win streak to the test. They will be back home November 7 to take on Yuba College.

For more information on the Los Medanos College women’s soccer team visit, http://www.losmedanos.edu/Soccer/.