Throughout the 2019 women’s soccer season, the San Diego Mesa College women’s soccer team in most part dominated their opponents. In November, prior to last night’s quarterfinal game against Citrus College, the Olympians have only surrendered one goal.
In their toughest game of the year to date, the Olympians squeaked out a victory besting Citrus College 4-3, in penalty kicks, after two overtime periods.
Freshman forward Arianna ReVelo could not have picked a better time to score her 11thgoal of the year. After surrendering the 1-0 go ahead point to Citrus with seven minutes left in regulation time, the Olympians miraculously scored the equalizer from Arianna ReVelo (assist Kaitlin Clapinski) with 2 minutes left in stoppage time (94th minute), extending the game into overtime.
“The team was resilient, and I couldn’t be prouder,” adds Curran. “Scoring in the 94th minute to bring this game into overtime, that was impressive.”
After the conclusion of the second overtime, both teams head into one of the most exciting periods in all of sports, penalty kicks.
The coaching staff strategized and decided to pull Alyssa Warner from goalkeeper opting for sophomore Sarah Young. Call it intuition, call it a gut feeling --- call it the right decision.
Young was fantastic during the shootout. The teams tied at 3-3, Young was able to save two penalty kicks that will propel the Olympians into the next round.
“I went into the game at a really crucial time,” states Young. “After sitting out most of the game, I relied on my mental strength and preparation to be ready. Making the saves is what’s expected of me. I couldn’t be prouder of how our entire team played, but there is still much to do, on to the next.”
“We knew Sarah was the right call,” explains Curran. “She’s quicker on the line, reads the kicker well and we’ve been practicing PK’s with her over the last month, we had all the confidence in the world when she was subbed in.”
Mesa will play the winner of #4 Cerritos College (14-4-2) and #13 Long Beach City College (14-5-0) who play this Saturday in Cerritos. The winner between the two will advance to take on Mesa College. Team that has the higher seeding, will host the game on Tuesday, November 26, 2019. Time to be determined.
“I felt like we didn’t play our best game,” states Curran. “But winners find a way to win, and I think our team is made up of a bunch of winners. We learned a lot about playoff soccer today. I am confident that we can play better, and we’ll be prepared for the next challenge.”