Community College Notebook : OCC’s Rogers Is Key Link on Soccer Team

The Orange Coast College women’s soccer team is in first place in the South Coast Conference with a 9-1-1 record, and Janell Rogers is one reason why.

Rogers plays center halfback and has the job of linking the offense and defense for OCC, which is 11-1-1 overall this season, and leads El Camino by a point with four games left.

“She is the quarterback of the team out there,” said OCC Coach Barbara Bond. “She really controls the action for us.”

Rogers, who was all-South Coast Conference as a freshman last season, has scored four goals this season.

Rogers was a starter for four years at Edison High School and twice was named to the all-Sunset League team.

Saddleback College will keep its women’s basketball team in tact. The program lost three players because of transfers and injuries, so the athletic department met last week to decide the fate of the team.

“We’re going to go ahead and play,” said Athletic Director Keith Caulkins. “We never wanted to drop the team. That was just one of the possibilities we wanted to discuss.”

The women’s state volleyball tournament has expanded from four to eight teams. The California Assn. of Community College’s Commission on Athletics approved the plan last week.

The number of teams that qualify for the the Southern California and Northern California regionals was increased from eight to 12.

The first- and second-place teams from the five conferences in the south as well as two at-large teams will make the playoffs, which start Nov. 24. The top two teams from the six Northern California conferences will make the regional.

The state tournament is Dec. 5-6 at Cypress.

Community College notes

In the latest ranking among Southern California cross-country teams, the Rancho Santiago men and the Orange Coast women were each ranked third. Grossmont is the top-ranked men’s team, El Camino second, San Deigo Mesa fourth, Hancock fifth, Mt. San Antonio sixth, Glendale seventh, Long Beach City eighth, Orange Coast ninth and Cerritos 10th.

MiraCosta is the top-ranked women’s team, Mt. San Antonio second, El Camino fourth, Ventura fifth, San Diego Mesa sixth, Cerritos seventh, Grossmont eighth, Moorpark ninth and Santa Monica 10th. Saddleback is 11th.

The top five teams at the Southern California finals at Irvine Park Nov. 13 advance to the state meet at Fresno Nov. 20.