Veteran Hancock College women’s soccer coach Billy Vinnedge said before his 2022 team started its Western State Conference North Division campaign that his squad’s prospects were good.
The optimism Vinnedge, who is also the Hancock men’s soccer squad’s veteran coach, expressed about his women’s squad turned out to be well-rounded.
The Bulldogs finished 15-2-5, 9-1-2 and earned a share of the WSC North championship with Santa Barbara City College. No. 13 Hancock beat no. 20 Orange Coast College 3-1 at Hancock in the first round of the Southern Regional Playoffs.
The share of the conference championship and the post-season win were both program firsts. The Bulldogs did not lose a home game. The Hancock women’s run ranks as No. 6 among the top Times sports stories of 2022.
Their defense was the Bulldogs’ anchor all year. Hancock posted eight shutouts and allowed just 13 goals all season. The three goals No. 4 Mt. SAC scored in a 3-0 win against Hancock at Walnut-based Mt. San Antonio College in the second round of the regional were the most the Bulldogs allowed in a single game.
The game was 1-0 until the last two minutes.
Hancock scored a 2-0 conference home win against Los Angeles Pierce College in the first round of conference games after the Brahmas were ranked in one publication’s junior college national top 20.
The Bulldogs then proved that it was no fluke, bouncing back after a 2-1 loss to Santa Barbara and not losing any of their nine remaining conference games.
Vinnedge and his staff were honored as the WSC North Division Coaching Staff of the Year among WSC North women’s soccer coaching staff.
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Hancock’s core group of defenders consisted of freshmen Ana Delgado and Leslie Ramirez, and sophomores Jessica Gil and Hope Smith. All four earned All-Western State Conference North Division honors, and all four earned a spot on the All-WSC North First Team.
So did freshman Cynthia Ramirez, one of nine Bulldogs to earn either First or Second Team honors. Two more made Honorable Mention.
Ramirez racked up 25 goals and 13 assists on the year for a total of 63 points. She was the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) points leader in the first part of the year.
She wound up second in the CCCAA in goals scored and points. Ramirez is Hancock’s single-season record-holder in goals, assists and points.
Sophomore Ally Britt and freshman Maya Mendek split time at goalkeeper for the Bulldogs, and both made the All-Conference Second Team. Britt made 35 saves in her 18 appearances, and Mendek made 34 in her 16 games in goal. Britt allowed nine goals and Mendek allowed seven.
Second-Team midfielder Hayde Gallardo, a sophomore, steadied the Bulldogs and helped quarterback the offense as Hancock, after leading 2-0 at halftime, withstood an Orange Coast College surge in the first part of the second half.
Alina Torres, a freshman striker, scored three game-winning goals. She was Second-Team All-Conference. Freshmen Estrella Guzman and Kaihla Lopez both notched five goals and three assists, for a total of 13 points, on the year. Both scored a game-winning goal and both earned All-Conference Honorable Mention.
Next: No. 5: Two Pioneer Valley teams strike gold.
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