Story and Photo by Marcus Tolero
The City College of San Francisco Women’s Soccer team (12-2-4, No.6 seed) starts their playoff run in front of the Rams faithful this Saturday against Lassen City College (12-5-4, No.11 seed).
The Rams roll into the playoffs after clinching their seventh consecutive Coast-North Conference title last week. First-year Head Coach Jeff Wilson will look to carry the momentum of winning the conference championship into this first-round match.
“We have to continue with what we have established throughout the season. It really comes down to the way we play. Every opponent from this point on will be good because they made the playoffs,” Wilson said. “Our focus this week is to to prepare the women physically and mentally training this week, whether it be on or – off the field – is to concentrate on the task at hand.”
This is not the first time the Rams and Lassen have met. Earlier in the year at the Las Positas Showcase Tournament in early September, CCSF and Lassen left the field with a 1-1 tie. Although it was an early-season match, Wilson said they will be facing a good opponent on Saturday.
“I’m sure they are going to go into the game with confidence because of our first matchup, and rightfully so. They have some very good players. It will be a great game,” Wilson said.
The matchup will be a marquee showdown between CCSF’s elite offensive attack and Lassen’s stellar defense. The Rams’ offense, led by Jesse Bareilles, Danielle Nicotera, Angelica Gonzalez, and Daniella Gutierrez, finished the season with 60 goals – tied for 14th in the state. They will look to score on a Lassen team that allowed only 21 goals and shutout 13 teams, fifth best in the state.
Regardless of the impressive numbers CCSF and Lassen posted in the regular season, Coach Wilson knows that the game will come down to statistics that cannot be quantified.
“Approach this game with confidence, and understanding that there is urgency involved because you don’t get a second chance. Throughout this week, as we prepare, it’s constantly reminding the team what we have done well this season and some of the things we need to clean up,” Wilson said.
Game time is 2:00 pm this Saturday at CCSF.