SBVC women’s soccer team wins a thriller

Soccer games don’t get much better than the one between the women’s teams from Cypress and San Bernardino Valley College which took place today.

The Wolverines (18-1-3) won it in penalty kicks after the teams battled through regulation and two overtimes tied at 1. SBVC had to play a man down for most of the second half and the OT’s after a second yellow card to Angelina King.

The game got a little chippy, especially in the second half which led to some hard feelings on each side. SBVC got the short end because it had a player disqualified. The referee did nothing when a player from each tumbled to the ground, then the player from Cypress grabbed a fist full of jersey to prevent the SBVC player from getting up. Our photographer got a great picture of that!

A bit later the goalkeeper from Cypress shoved SBVC’s Ruby Leon after a play in which Leon was racing toward the goal and been denied.

Give the SBVC team credit for playing through the adversity of being a person down for the better part of 50 minutes.

Then it went to penalty kicks, 11 for each team.Even the goalkeepers had to kick them. I can’t think they have much practice kicking them, They usually have to focus on stopping them. 

SBVC keeper Bianca Contreras was one of the heroes for the Wolverines. She made a penalty kick and stopped four, one of those to end the marathon game.

Crystal Sanchez had SBVC’s goal in regulation and made her two penalty kicks in the shootout. Jensen Keith and Lauren Evans were stellar on defense all afternoon.

 

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SBVC finishing up a strong fall

It’s been a pretty good fall sports season at San Bernardino Valley College.

The men’s cross country team came back from Fresno on Saturday with yet another state championship. That’s five in a row and counting. That streak seems like it will go on as long as Wes Ashford is there as coach. This one was a little closer than the others but the streak is still in tact.

The football team went 7-4 overall. The Wolverines were 7-3 in the regular season and finished first in the American Division Mountain Conference. They lost a Bowl game on Saturday at L.A. Pierce but it doesn’t take away from a fine season, led by the record-breaking showing of Kristin James.

It’s hard to believe this team was 0-10 two years ago.

The women’s soccer team is 17-1-3 with three straight Foothill Conference titles. They won a first-round playoff game on Saturday and host Cypress at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.

Those teams all have fine coaches that have done a lot with modest resources. It also goes to show you can win with local talent.

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Coyotes off to nationals for third straight year

The Cal State San Bernardino volleyball team did what was expected and chalked up a 15-22, 25-22, 25-14 win over Seattle Pacific in the NCAA Division II West championship match at Coussoulis Arena.

Seattle Pacific was tough, especially for a team that before this season had never won a playoff game in school history. But the focused Coyotes were on a mission and no team was going to stand in the way.
The Coyotes won all three of their regional matches 3-0 and 23 of their 28 wins this season have come in sweeps.
Nicole Moore had 15 kills and Samantha Middleborn 10. Both made the All-Tournament team along with fellow Coyotes Camille Smith, Megan Johnson and Jane Chafeh.
Seattle Pacific has a nice freshman middle blocker in Nikki Lowell, who hails from Claremont. She had nine kills, three solo blocks and six block assists. Look for her to lead the Falcons back next year.
Now its on to nationals for the Coyotes. Their next opponent . . . Concordia St. Paul. That’s the same team that beat them in a five-set thriller in 2008 and the national semifinal in 2009.
The good thing for the Coyotes is that there will be no packing of the winter garb for a trip to Minnesota. This year the event will be on neutral ground in Louisville, Ky. I like their chances.
After Saturday’s match players talked about the match-up. They say they got a little too wrapped up in the revenge factor last year after the heartbreak the previous year. That only added to the pressure. This year they are just focused on their own game and won’t let who they are playing distract from the ultimate goal.
Call that a lesson in maturity.

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