For the first time in history, a Hancock College women’s soccer team has earned a share of a league championship.
For the second time in school history, a Hancock women’s soccer team will be in the playoffs.
The Bulldogs earned those distinctions with a 2-1 win at Ventura Saturday night. Hancock (14-5, 9-1-2) are co-Western State Conference-North Division champions with Santa Barbara. Alina Terrones, with an assist from Bulldogs season scoring leader Cynthia Ramirez, scored the winning goal in the 71st minute
Hancock earned the No. 13 seed for the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Playoffs, the highest playoff seed ever for a Hancock women’s soccer team. The Bulldogs will host no. 20 Orange Coast (12-8-2) in the first round of the Southern California Regionals.
The Bulldogs came from behind on Friday night to get the job done against the Pirates, just as they did with a 2-1 win at home against Ventura earlier in the season. In that one, the Pirates went ahead 1-0 with a first half own goal against the Bulldogs.
This time, Alyssa Cornwell, with an assist from Alexis Arrieta put the Pirates ahead with a goal at the 15-minute mark.
Becca Souza with an assist from Leslie Ramirez tied the game at 1-1 for the Bulldogs with a goal at 30:00. That was the score at halftime.
Ventura goalkeeper Isa Garcia knocked away a Ramirez shot at the 26-minute mark of the second half, but Terrones knocked home the rebound shot for the winning goal.
The Pirates took 10 shots on goal to eight for the Bulldogs, but Hancock goalies Maya Mendek (first half) and Aly Britt (second) lifted the Bulldogs by making five saves each. Garcia made six saves for the Pirates.
Deep backs Ana Delgado and Jessica Gil have helped goalies Mendek and Britt hold WSC-North opponents to a combined five goals during the regular season.
The Bulldogs scored two goals or less in eight of the 10 WSC-North games they played on the pitch (Cuesta, which could not field a team, forfeited all 12 of its scheduled conference games). However, with that sturdy defense, Hancock scored more than enough to earn a share of the WSC-North title.
Hancock 8, Los Angeles Mission 0
It was a tough season for the Bulldogs (4-13-3, 3-6-1) but they won big in their season finale on Sophomore Day at Hancock Friday.
The Eagles finished 0-14-7, 0-6-4.
Hancock took 20 shots on goal to three for LA Mission and led 3-0 at halftime. Jose Perez knocked in three goals for Hancock, Jose Espinoza scored twice, and Eric Diaz, Jesus Hinojosa and Sean Soltan all tallied once for Hancock.
Bulldogs goalkeeper Luis Garcia made three saves. Diaz, Perez, Hinojosa and Soltan all had an assist.
Sign up to receive headlines in your inbox!
Breaking News | Local Sports | Daily Headlines | Local Obituaries | Weather | Local Offers
The Bulldogs ran their record to 4-0 with two wins at the Monterey Peninsula Classic, 60-41 against host Monterey Peninsula Friday and 74-53 against San Mateo Saturday.
Chloe Blanksenship, with 17 points and 10 rebounds, produced a double-double for the Bulldogs against San Mateo Saturday. Orcutt Academy graduate Giselle Calderon scored a game high 18 points for Hancock, and Mya Mendoza put in 10. Kayla Taylor scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Bulldogs.
Blankenship and Taylor put in 12 points apiece in balanced Hancock scoring against Monterey Peninsula. Mallory Brannum scored 10 points. Calderon notched eight points and eight assists.
The Bulldogs (1-3) dropped two games at the Hinson’s Tire Pro Winter Classic at Cuesta College, 70-64 against unbeaten Gavilan Friday and 74-64 against College of the Sequoias Saturday.
Taevon Pierce-Louis earned a double-double for the Bulldogs against the Rams on Friday, with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Vondre Chase put in a game high 22 points for Hancock. Alex Harris led Gavilan with 18 points.
No Hancock statistics for the Bulldogs’ game against the Giants Saturday were available.
Orcutt Academy won the league championship Thursday. The meet was held at the Fairbanks Course across from Cuesta College.
The Spartans scored 40 points to runner-up Nipomo’s 63. Kayden Sanders won the race with a time of 21 minutes, 18.75 seconds on the tough Fairbanks 5K course.
Orcutt won thanks to a 6-7-8-9-10 finish for its five scoring runners, Isabella Trenado, Devyn Kendrick, Rylie Allen, Peyton Mya and Cassidy Andreadakis.
Cabrillo freshman Sophia Ramirez, with a time of 21:41.64, was the runner-up in the girls race. Kate Barnett of Nipomo, Noleena Fahy of Morro Bay and Brooke Phelan of Santa Ynez rounded out the top five.
Morro Bay finished third in the seven-team standings with 93 points. Cabrillo finished fourth with 96. Righetti was fifth with 119, Lompoc was sixth with 122 and Santa Ynez finished seventh with 132. Lauren Jansen, in 13th place, was the top Lompoc runner.
.