Women's Soccer Gains Tie, But ELAC, SCC North A Problem

After the best start in PCC women's soccer history with six straight victories, the Pasadena City College women's soccer team has hit a rough patch. The Lancers saw a 7-match undefeated string (6-0-1) ended in their South Coast Conference North Division opener Sept. 29 when they were beaten by Chaffey, 3-0. On Tuesday, PCC worked hard to earn a 1-1 tie against East Los Angeles, but it continued a tough stretch of games dating back to last year in divisional play.

Since the South Coast split into 5-team divisions last year with the addition of Chaffey and Rio Hondo from the defunct Foothill Conference, the Lancers are still searching for their first North victory. They are now 0-8-2 in divisional games and last won a "conference game" on Nov. 6, 2015 in a 9-1 rout over Compton. The conference winless streak is officially at 12 straight games (0-9-3). 

Maybe the most mystifying slump is the one PCC has had against ELAC teams. The Lancers are 0-7-8 in the last 15 meetings against their rival from Monterey Park. The last time Pasadena beat the Huskies was eight years ago on Oct. 30, 2009. Lancers head coach Reggie Rivas joined the assistant coaching staff in 2011 and in his fifth season as head coach hasn't had the thrill of defeating the conference foe. 

"There's something about our games against East LA where we get into these defensive grudge matches," Rivas said. "We can't seem to score much against them. In the past few games, we've suffered from some key injuries to a few starters and it's affected our style of play. I am proud of our team though because we battled back today and really pressed them the last 30 minutes. This North Division is extremely competitive and it's simply not going to get any easier for us. We've only lost once in nine games, so I really believe we can fight through this."

At Robinson Stadium, PCC (6-1-2, 0-1-1) tied it in the 71st minute when Thamara Peterson made a throw in from the sideline of the goalie box. Alexxis Molinar collected the pass and delivered a Lancers goal a few feet from the goal-line. ELAC (3-5-1, 0-2-1) had scored on a blast by Jennifer Toledo in the 27th minute.

The Lancers several times entered ELAC's 18-yard box but were denied on a number of short-range plays. In the final 10 minutes, both Brianna Aguilar and Angelica De La Cruz took shots that were blocked by Huskies' defenders just a few yards from the goal-line. 

On Friday, Oct. 6, Pasadena hopes to end its division slump when it plays at Mt. San Antonio College. Game time is 4 p.m.