Women's Soccer Finds Its Goalie In Chaffey Loss

The Pasadena City College women's soccer team may have lost to undefeated Chaffey Friday, but the Lancers found their goalie in converted forward Isabel Diaz. The freshman from Alverno High used her athleticism and quickness along with the help of defensive play by Aisling O'Beirne and Janel Ismail to keep the Panthers in check for most of the game in a 1-0 loss at Robinson Stadium.

The Lancers are 2-5-3 overall and now 0-2 in South Coast Conference North Division play. PCC saw a 5-game undefeated streak (2-0-3) end in a 5-0 loss at Mt. San Antonio that opened conference play on Tuesday. On September 23, PCC settled for a 0-0 tie in a SCC crossover game against LA Harbor.

Against Chaffey (10-0, 2-0), the Panthers scored the lone goal of the game in the 36th minute when Skyla Wilson was left alone in the box on a send-in pass by Alyssa Melendez and knocked it in. 

Diaz would make eight saves, stuffing Emma Burgos on a point blank rebound shot in the fifth minute and then making a similar great save on Wilson in the 58th minute. Diaz also often used her quickness to get the ball out of danger when Chaffey pressed.

"Isabel was the star of the game," said PCC head coach Reggie Rivas. "We're not going to generate much offense, especially against talented teams like Chaffey. So that means we have to have big performances from our goalie. Isabel has made a sacrifice to move positions and it's going to pay off for us."

The Lancers didn't have many opportunities to score, and their best chance was when Sandra Ambrosio got loose from inside the goalie box early in the second half. Ambrosio though couldn't control a bouncing ball as it got away wide of the cage. In the final minute, Ambrosio's free kick attempt from the far sideline at the 20-yard line went wide.

Chaffey has outscored its opponents, 38-1, in 10 games, and the only other time it was held to one goal was against Santa Barbara City College (1-0 win) on September 20. 

On Tuesday, Oct. 4, the Lancers will play at Rio Hondo College in a 4 p.m. conference game.

[Photo--Isabel Diaz makes the stop in goal for the Lancers on Friday at Robinson Stadium, image by Richard Quinton.]