The football season is coming to an end and the women’s football team is on a solid run so far. The Santa Monica College (SMC) women’s Corsairs team is now 11-5-2 in the season and 7-3-1 in the South Division of the Western State Conference after beating the Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC) Monarchs ( WSC). Tuesday November 1st. The rankings would indicate an easy win for the Corsairs as LAVC went out with a 2-8 WSC South record, but that wasn’t exactly the case.
LAVC started the game and SMC quickly took possession of the ball and kept it on the Monarchs’ side for most of the game. There were frequent scoring runs by the Corsairs throughout the game, but none proved successful until the 35-minute mark. A run into the box resulted in a handball from the Monarchs and a penalty for the Corsairs. Captain and midfielder Sophie Doumitt was responsible for the penalty and successfully netted it, giving the Corsairs a 1-0 lead.
Forward Emma Riertam had frequent runs down the left touchline, but all those runs and shots came up short. Eventually, the runs paid off as Riertam scored a goal to close out the first half. Instead of running down the left touchline, Riertam ran down the right touchline and sliced in past a defender into the box. She took her shot, which went past the keeper without a block and gave the Corsairs a 2-0 lead.
Although it was a close game, the Corsairs had most of it under control until the 81st minute. The Monarchs eventually slipped past the defense and found goalie Johana Ventureno. Aside from scoring, Ventureno had a good game, blocking every other shot that came her way. The Corsairs held off the Monarchs for the remainder of the game and won 2-1.
Reflecting on the win after the game, Doumitt conceded that it wasn’t her or the team’s best game. She hasn’t lived up to the high standards she sets for herself and failed to connect on a couple of passes that could have been key chances. Regarding the team’s performance, Doumitt mentioned that the chemistry was a little lacking and some players couldn’t play due to injuries, which is one reason for the close game. Still, Doumitt was happy with the win and is looking forward to the rest of the season and have fun with her team.
“I feel like this is a really unique team and we’re all really connected, you know,” Doumitt said. “So honestly I think no matter what happens we always have fun and I think that’s super important because football is supposed to be fun but we’re going to keep pushing and keep our effort high and our energy high.”
The women’s team has just three games left of the season. Their next game is on Friday, November 4 at 12:30pm against Antelope Valley College, to whom the Corsairs lost 6-0 last time out. The last two games are home games. The first is on Tuesday, November 8 at 2:30 p.m. against the Citrus College Owls, and the second and final game of the regular season is on Thursday, November 10 at 2:30 p.m. against the College of the Canyons instead of.
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