Women's Soccer: 2018-19 Season Review
A trip to the Sweet 16 highlighted a year full of firsts for the Crush Women’s Soccer program.
It was a bittersweet end to the 2018-19 season for the Crush Women's Soccer program. Competing in the Sweet 16 for the first time, the Crush lost at home to Hartnell College in penalty kicks after a 1-1 tie through regulation and overtime. The lone goal was scored by freshman Ariana Quintero in the 60th minute off an assists from freshman Brooke Gill. Hartnell tied the match in the 87th minute to force overtime, and came away winners in penalty kicks by a score of 3-1.
To get to the Sweet 16, the Crush defeated Taft College in the first round 2-0 with goals by sophomores Esmeralda Navarro and Annika Van Beurden, marking their first playoff win in history. The loss to Hartnell put an end to a successful 2018-19 season by all accounts. Making the jump from a #11 seed and a first playoff appearance in 2017 to a #3 seed and the second round this year was just one of the signs of the growth of the program over the first three seasons.
The Crush finished the season with an overall record of 16-3-4 and had a series of first and broken records over the course of the season:
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Most wins in a season: 16
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Highest season winning percentage: .783
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Longest winning streak: 7 games
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Most total goals, assists, and points in a season: 93 goals (Top 5 in the State), 70 assists, 256 points
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Highest goals-per game average: 4.04
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Highest playoff seeding: #3
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Most individual goals in a season: 21, Ariana Quintero
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Most individual points in a season: 55, Ariana Quintero
- Highest United Soccer Coaches Final national ranking: #15
Some highlights from the season included:
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4-3 come from behind home win in season opener over Santa Rosa Junior College
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3-1 home win over 2017 CCCAA State Runner-Up Santa Barbara City College
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2-1 home win over 2017 CCCAA State Champion Fresno City College
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2-0 home win over Taft College for first playoff win in program history
The Central Valley was well represented by the Crush this season, with players coming from 9 different cities and 16 different local high schools. The future is bright as they look to continue the progress and build on the successes on and off the field these first three years. If you are interested in being a part of the Crush Women's Soccer program for the Fall 2019-20 season please click HERE. Go Crush!!!