The Soccer Playoff Preview: Regional Round #1

Glendora, CA -- For the first time in program history, the Citrus College Women's Soccer team has qualified for the California Community College Athletic Association post-season. The Owls were seeded as the #10 team in Southern California and will be taking on the #7 seed Ventura College at the Ventura College Sportsplex this Saturday at 1:00 PM.

About the Matchup
Saturday's game will be the first meeting between Ventura College and Citrus College since the 2006 season. That year the two schools squared off in a Western State Conference cross-divisional matchup in Glendora at Citrus College Stadium. The Pirates came into the contest with just one loss and having won six of their first eight contests. That game was no different, as Citrus was just beginning their rebuilding process and were handed a 4-1 loss by Ventura. It's the eighth overall meeting between the two schools in their program's history. Ventura has won all previous seven matches.

About the Pirates
Ventura College has continually been one of the most successful programs in Southern California. The Pirates won 11 consecutive Western State Conference North Division Championships from 1996-2006 and have won 15 of the last 17 conference titles including the 2012 title after going 14-5-1 overall and 9-0-1 in conference play.

The Pirates are led by sophomore forward Daisy Cardona who led the entire Western State Conference in total points with 51 (18 goals, 15 assists), and fellow sophomore forward Breanna Naranjo who is 12th overall in total points with 25 (9 goals, 7 assists). Freshman keeper Katelyn White has been outstanding in goal for Ventura all season long, allowing just 14 goals and posting a 0.95 Goals Against Average, the 6th best mark in the WSC.

Last Time Out
The Owls were last on the pitch last Friday when they closed out their regular season with a 4-0 win at West Los Angeles College. Sophomore Jade Vehawn scored the Owls first goal late in the first half to give Citrus a 1-0 lead at the break. In the second half, the Owls tore the game wide open getting a pair of goals from sophomore Jasmine Williams and the final from freshman Sheyla Sanchez late in the contest. The win made Citrus 15-2-3 overall and 11-2-1 in conference play, the best mark by an Owl team in program history.

Upsets in CCCAA Women's Soccer Playoff History
Since 2001, there have been 19 instances in which a lower seed has defeated the higher host season. Of those 17 times, five have been when a #10 seed has upset a #7 seed. The last time that happened was back in 2006 when WSC North member Moorpark College beat Long Beach City College out of the South Coast Conference. It also happened in 2005 (Mt. San Antonio over Santa Monica), 2004 (Moorpark against Rio Hondo), 2001 (Pasadena City over Rio Hondo), and in 2000 (Pasadena City over Santa Ana).  Of the five times a 10 has beaten a 7, no #10 seed has ever advanced past the second round. The most upsets ever in a single season was just last year, when four upsets occurred when #16 seeded Orange Coast knocked off #1 Cerritos, #9 Miramar defeated #8 San Diego Mesa, #11 Cypress upset #6 LA Pierce, and #15 San Bernardino Valley defeated #2 Santa Barbara City College.

Citrus In The Record Books
As a team, this Citrus College Women's Soccer team will go down in the history books as arguably the best team in program history. The Owls matched the program record for total wins with 15, and posted a program record for Western State Conference South Division wins with 11. In addition, this Owls team has program the team record for most goals in a season, 53, that was set in 2007, and also demolished the record for goals allowed in a season with just 11, four fewer than the previous best effort of 15 in 2010. Most importantly the 2012 Citrus College Women's Soccer team is the first ever Citrus Women's Soccer team to qualify for the post-season.

Coach Tracey Says

How To Follow
There are a number of ways in which you can follow the action on Saturday afternoon. First is by heading over Ventura College and the Ventura College Sportsplex for the 1:00 PM start time. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students and seniors.

If you can't make it out to the playoff match, then please follow our official twitter feed @ccfightingowls where we will be posting live updates throughout the contest. In addition, the scoreboard at the bottom of CitrusOwls.com will be updated with the score throughout the event.