The Rams passed another tough test on the path to the postseason as they came away with a 4-1 victory against Ventura College on Oct. 29.
The Rams came out early, scoring in the eighth minute when Liliana Ruiz connected on a nice shot from an assist by Jesslyn Fagundes and Carley Griffin.
FCC kept the pressure on Ventura as Fagundes found the net on a pass from Branisia Sproule in the 18th minute to lead 2-0.
FCC wrapped up the scoring in the first half as Sam Hernandez placed the ball in the net off of assists from Griffin and Fagundes to go up 3-0 at half time.
The Rams continued the attack in the second half.
Griffin found the net in the 51st minute off of an assist from Ashlynn Marino to go up 4-0 and seemingly have the game under control.
Ventura found the net for their one and only goal of the game in the 66th minute as Monique Orocio scored off of an assist from Lindsay Armenta to cap the scoring for both teams in the match.
“We’re still young and we’re just trying to learn and get better,” said FCC head coach Oliver Germond. “We definitely learned a lot against a team like Ventura because they’re one of the better teams in the south.”
Although the Rams were able to net four goals against Ventura, Germond pointed out that Ventura constantly had the Rams on their heels in the first half which kept the game interesting.
“When we did have chances, we capitalized around the goal,” Germond said.
The Rams enter the final stretch of the season with four games remaining before playoffs start. As the season is nearing an end, Germond explains how he keeps the team focused and ready to finish the season strong.
“We’ve seen each other every day since July and the burnout factor is something we always want to prevent,” Germond said.
Women’s assistant coach Drew Mattos explained how the 10 day layoff before the Ventura game helped rejuvenate the Rams.
“I think what helped us during the 10 day stretch was having a goal of the day,” Mattos said. “What that did was allow us to focus on things we needed to work on individually and then move on to the next task the following day.”
One constant bright spot for the Rams this season has been their defense. FCC has held opponents to only five goals this season. The Rams single season record for goals allowed in a season is seven.
“Our backline of our defenders has done such a great job all year long and they did the same thing against Ventura,” Germond said. “Most of the opportunities we gave up to Ventura were from the outside. The farther someone is shooting from the less likely they are to score.”
“They did have a lot of opportunities in the game,” said Rams defender Brianna Reyes. “The fact that our defense only allowed them to get one says a lot.”
As the Rams approach the final three games of conference play starting Friday, Rams forward Jesslyn Fagundes explains the mindset that they need to go into with for those games and come out victorious.
“We need to put the teams away early,” said Fagundes.
FCC is currently 12-2-2 overall with a 2-0-1 record in the Central Valley Conference.
The Rams are currently ranked No. 9 in the nation in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll.
The Rams will travel to Lemoore on Friday to take on West Hills. The following week, FCC will close out the regular season with two home games.
Their first game will be on Tuesday Nov. 9 against COS, with the final game of the regular season coming Friday Nov. 12 against Taft.
