FCC Women’s Soccer: On The Journey To A State Title

Great seasons don’t just come out of nowhere, they are worked on even before the season begins. The same can be said about great teams. It takes the hard work and sweat of team members and coaches to make something special happen during the regular season.

No one knows this better than the Fresno City College women’s soccer team and their coach Oliver Germond.

“Last year was frustrating, we lost in shootouts to Delta College and it was kind of a heart breaker because we had such a good season,” said Germond. “We only gave up five goals all season last year and to lose in shootouts was really disappointing.”

Germond has been head coach at FCC for 17 years and his level of success with the women’s soccer program has brought him 11 conference coach of the year awards. In 2014, he was recognized by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America as coach of the year.

“We try to play the best teams we can to see where we are before the season starts,” said Germond. “We like to test ourselves with strong teams as much as we can.”

With an overall record of 16 wins, zero defeats and one tie, the Rams have dominated overwhelmingly and are getting ready to make a deep playoff run.

The 2017 season has been similar to others in that they had great success, but it’s also different in the fact that they have defeated top-level teams like Cerritos College, who were ranked number one in the nation at the time they faced each other.

Before the season started, the Rams were ranked 18th in the nation by the NSCAA and they only went up from there. After the Cerritos victory the team received the biggest boost in rankings, taking them all the way to the number two spot in the nation.

Becoming the number two team in the nation came with a great boost of confidence for the team, but also a lot of outside attention.

“At first it kind of got to us, but then our coach talked to us and made us realize everyone wants to beat us, because we’re on top.” Defender and team captain, Alyssa Damian said.

She spoke about how being nationally recognized affected the team. “If we want to reach our final goal, we have to give 100 percent all the time.”

A big part of what makes this team so great is the bond between all the players that the team has created. The team is comprised of 28 players who are always battling for playing time but this doesn’t mean that they don’t get along.

This year the team took a team building retreat to the Kings River where they camped and went whitewater rafting.

“I feel like the girls get along really well, almost too well, because they tend to get a bit goofy at times,” said Germond. “Any time you have overnight trips or spend a lot of time in the bus for a game, there is always time to bond.”

“We always hangout, we’re always talking,” said center and team captain Jasmine Garibay. “Whether it’s about school or soccer or personal life, we’re always in touch.”

The team is focused on achieving their goals of going to the playoffs and winning the state championship that has been so elusive in previous years.

With that state championship in mind, FCC will have to finish the season strong and in order for them to have home field advantage in the playoffs.

“The state championship is always in our mind, but you have to put in the work in order to get there,” said defender and team captain Danielle Pacheco.

It’s been a long road for the FCC women’s soccer team, but the most intense part is still to come and there is still more they want to achieve.

“This being my 17th year, I feel that this is the closest of a team we ever had,” Germond said. “Every year our goal is to get to the final four and put ourselves in a situation to win a state championship.”