SCC Women, Outscored by 127, Still Standing

No one could blame the Southern California College women’s soccer team for feeling shellshocked. The Vanguards, in their inaugural season, have been outscored, 129-2, while losing all 17 of their games.

But despite some midseason blues, they have held up remarkably well, SCC Coach Scott Dameron said.

The Vanguards have lost many games by double-digit deficits, including their worst defeat, 15-0, to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The high scores are a natural result of the team’s style. Dameron said he pushes the team to extend itself on offense instead of packing its defense zone.

“We’ve paid for it with a few extra goals here and there,” Dameron said, “but our players have improved more because of it.”

Considering that for a time it was questionable whether SCC would field a team this season, any improvement is encouraging.

Dameron, a former soccer player who completed his eligibility last year, took over the team in June after the program’s first coach, Bob Pacieznik, resigned. When Dameron called the team’s first practice in mid-August, only seven players showed up.

Dameron and his players scoured the campus for players, and added three to the roster--still one short of a full team--for SCC’s first game of the season. By the second game, the Vanguards had 11 players and now have 13 on the roster.

“Even though it’s been rough this year, we know we’re in a great place to get something started,” Dameron said. “We want to show people regardless of the scores we’re going to be a real program.”

*

The Vanguards are definitely not without heart. For instance, sophomore sweeper Shirley Jareb has played most of the season with a stress fracture in her ankle. Jareb, a transfer from Orange Coast College who played at La Quinta High, is the Vanguards’ strongest defensive player.

Not surprisingly, senior goalkeeper Andrea Oleson leads the NAIA District 3 in saves. She has 272, an average of 16 a game.

“To see what she can do now, compared to what she could do at the beginning of the season is just incredible, but that goes for our team across the board,” Dameron said.

Maia Hyde, a freshman forward from West Covina, leads the offense. She scored the first goal in program history, this month in a 5-1 loss to Biola and assisted on the second--a goal by Katrina Bohn in the second half of an 11-1 loss to Westmont Tuesday.

*

The Chapman women’s volleyball team has struggled in its first season without athletic scholarships, but Coach Mary Cahill said the Panthers are showing improvement despite stiff competition.

For example, Chapman, which is a NCAA Division II independent pending a move to Division III next season, extended UC San Diego, ranked No. 2 in Division III, to five games before San Diego won, 13-15, 15-11, 14-16, 15-10, 16-14. Chapman (2-19) led, 8-2, in the fourth game before San Diego rallied.

Shawna Parkinson had 28 kills and Dani Foley had 22. Parkinson was set for 99 times and Foley 77.

“Everyone played the best that they’ve played in that match,” Cahill said. “Obviously, we’d like to come out on top and get a win, but I think they still know that they played well.”

Notes

The Chapman women’s swim team begins its first season Saturday at the Occidental Relays in Eagle Rock. . . . Concordia has hired Curt Cattau, a faculty member for the last two years, to coach its softball team. Cattau, a former athletic director at Martin Luther High in Milwaukee, takes over a team that has had four coaches in five seasons. He replaces Leslie Burke, who resigned last spring after two years as coach.