Monarchs fall to last place Renegades

After winning the first match against Bakersfield with only 10 available players, Valley women’s soccer failed to take game two of the season series at full strength.

By Edward Segal, Staff Writer

After playing like they were in control for the first 15 minutes, the Monarchs could not defend against the Renegades’ counter attacks, resulting in a 2-goal deficit at halftime that proved to be insurmountable for Valley.

Valley College women’s soccer (4-12-2, 2-7-1 WSC) has been short-handed for the entire season, starting with only 18 players and losing three to season-ending injuries. In their first game against Bakersfield College (3-11-1, 1-9-0 WSC) on Oct. 12, the Monarchs only had 10 players available and were missing their only listed goalkeeper but they still managed to take down the Renegades 2-1. On Friday, the Monarchs had their whole roster available, but allowed the Renegades to even the season series in a 2-0 win, their first in the conference this campaign.

Coming off a 7-0 loss to College of the Canyons, Valley tried to regroup but had no luck on the offensive end, attacking incessantly but making little to no progress. The Renegades’ final third defense allowed no one to get through, and the Monarchs’ inability to counter-attack resulted in a lack of scoring opportunities.

“We controlled the game but didn’t put the chances away,” said associate head coach Melissa Fernandez.

Valley had some opportunities to cut into the lead, with the free kicks going wide and the Bakersfield goalkeeper saving most of the other shots.

With the team being short on depth, players do not have to fight for minutes, but the downside is that most players have to stay on the pitch for the entire match.

“The girls are happy they’re playing,” said Fernandez, “but we are beat up. We played a lot of games in between the two against Bakersfield.”

In the offensive half, Valley’s defense applied a lot of pressure on Bakersfield, but when Bakersfield broke through Valley’s ranks the Monarchs had no way to stop them, allowing one direct goal and another after the goalkeeper, freshman Kristen Lum, saved the initial shot.

With the silence of only 10 fans in the bleachers, the players could be heard calling for the ball, telling their teammates about defenders behind them. None of that helped the Monarchs get behind the Renegades’ defense and put the ball in the net.

It was not a game of corner kicks, fouls and offsides, but of defensive stops, hustle plays and accurate passes. These little things were the reason the Renegades came out on top, with the Monarchs’ scoreless performance preventing them from coming back.

Bakersfield can still push Valley to the bottom of the conference if they win their last two games and the Monarchs lose one and draw (or lose) the other.

There is one week left in the season, featuring an away game against Antelope Valley Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. and a Nov. 12 home game against Santa Monica at 3:00 p.m.

“After a loss like this, you have to refocus and gather yourself,” said associate head coach Greg Venger. “Don’t take any team for granted and be disciplined.”