Mt. San Antonio, Long Beach Early Standouts As Women's Soccer Opens SCC Games
Mt. San Antonio and Long Beach City Colleges have established themselves as the top teams in their respective divisions as 10 squads open their South Coast Conference, 9-game round robin schedule today (Oct. 4).
Mt. SAC (8-1) was ranked #2 in the opening CCCSIA State Top 20 while Long Beach came in at #18.
The SCC round-robin schedule begins today, October 4, with games between Cerritos at El Camino, ELAC at Long Beach, Pasadena at LA City, Compton at LA Harbor, and Rio Hondo at Mt. San Antonio.
NORTH PREVIEW
The Mounties are led by returning SCC Goalie of the Year in Leila Peregrina, fourth in the state in goals against average (0.41) and leading the SCC in save percentage (.870). Letterman All-SCC midfielder Karissa Vela already has matched her entire 2021 scoring output with eight goals.
During a current 6-game win streak, Mt. SAC has allowed only one goal (outscored opponents, 15-1. All-SCC returning defender Fatima Arnold is tied for the conference lead in assists (six) and Kaylee Gutierrez has four goals and four assists.
Pasadena City (4-5-1) has a dynamic offense, led by Megan Schmidt (six goals, two assists) and All-SCC letterman Olivia Aguilar (four goals). Rio Hondo, last year's North champion, is off to a slow 2-4-1 start despite the return of SCC 2021 scoring champion Alexis Macias and several other returning All-SCC players.
Los Angeles City (2-4-1) return All-SCC First Teamers in forward Isabell Estrada and midfielder Stephanie Cardenas but have scuffled a bit despite a hat trick by Estrada in a 5-3 win over West LA. East Los Angeles finally snapped a 25-game program winless streak that extended back to 2019 with a 1-0 win over West LA. The Huskies return All-SCC goalie Michelle Ortiz.
SOUTH PREVIEW
Long Beach is 6-1-2 in pre-conference play and had a 7-game unbeaten streak snapped in a 3-1 loss to Saddleback. The Vikings have a number of high scorers in Genesis Lopez (eight goals), Diana Leon (eight goals), and Evelyn Sandoval (seven goals, four assists).
El Camino (6-2-1), last year's South Division champion, returns SCC South Goalie of the Year in Karlee Clark (0.68 goals against average this year). The Warriors also have top All-SCC midfielder Angelica Taylor, who already had four goals and six assists. Midfielder Julia Auslund is another standout.
Cerritos (2-4-1) has had an unusual winless run now of five games (0-4-1) but always are competitive in SCC play. The Falcons have some nifty offensive players in All-SCC lettermen in Victoria Adame (four goals, three assists) and Meghan Legayada (four goals).
LA Harbor (3-6-1) placed Cerritos on the ropes in a non-conference meeting, leading 2-0 before settling for a 2-2 tie. The Seahawks are led by All-SCC First Teamers in defender Kassandra Jimenez and scoring midfielder Nylah Tardy.
Compton (1-4-2) is paced by All-SCC midfielder Clarissa Navarro. The Tartars only win was a 6-0 triumph over San Diego Miramar.
SCC TOURNAMENT
Once again the 10 SCC teams take part in the South Coast Conference Tournament Nov. 4-11. While the division winners will be based on a 9-game, round robin schedule, the automatic qualifiers will be the winner of the tournament and the remaining division winner from the non-tourney winning division. Mt. SAC won last year's tourney.
SCC 2022 Statistical Leaders
SCC 2022 Current Standings
Preview Release by Robert Lewis, SCC SID