Woodland Community College has put the first pieces in place for its new soccer program this fall.
Hired within the past several weeks were Cristina Baggio and Andres Olmedo, who will serve as coaches for the women’s and men’s teams, respectively.
Both have strong pedigrees in coaching soccer at the high school and semi-professional levels in Sacramento and Woodland.
The college, located at 23000 E. Gibson Road, is planning to launch the soccer program this fall. The teams will be called the WCC Eagles, with an eagle serving as the school’s mascot.
“Developing a competitive athletics program has been a dream of our college for many years,” said Woodland Community College President Art Pimentel. “We are excited about the future and the opportunities this will create for our students and community to be even more engaged with our college.”
Pimentel reported earlier this year that the school officially started the process to be in the Bay Valley Conference through the California Community College Athletics Association. The proposal was considered and approved this past April.
Initially, the teams will play on soccer fields at the Woodland Community Center. In a couple of years, once money is available, a soccer field will be constructed at Woodland College. Money for the field will come from a variety of sources.
Baggio is a native of Dix Hills, New York. She spent the last three years at her alma mater, Yuba College.
In her first season as a 49er in 2019, the team held over a .600 winning percentage, finishing the season third in the Bay Valley Conference with two first-team all-conference and three second-team all-conference student-athletes.
Along with on-the-field awards, under Baggio’s leadership, multiple student-athletes landed on the academic recognition list, which consists of students holding over a 3.0 GPA, CCCAA Scholar Athlete Recipients, and several academic excellence scholarships.
In her second year in 2020, unable to participate in games due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 49ers took to a multitude of volunteer opportunities in Yuba and Sutter County.
Baggio got the team involved in the Yuba Sutter Food Bank for Hunger Action Month in September by feeding 372 households, packing 134 vehicles, and SayLove Community Participation Day to beautify and clean up the Sutter and Yuba Community. The team was also involved in elderly support by delivering 50 handwritten letters to Prestige Assisted Living in Marysville for residents and campus cleaning day at Yuba College.
In her third and final season, Baggio’s leadership led the 49ers to a second-place finish in the Bay Valley Conference, with a 2-1 win over Solano Community College to solidify a spot in their first playoff-bound experience within the last decade.
As part of her accomplishments, she stepped away from the program with two student-athlete transfers, multiple student-athlete scholars, a multitude of first and second-team all-conference players, and 19 Paco Arce scholarship opportunities.
Baggio also served as the Academic Senate at Yuba College for part-time faculty and as the Bay Valley Conference Chairperson from 2019-2022.
Prior to Yuba College, Baggio spent three years as an assistant coach at Chico State University, working alongside Wildcats head coach Kim Sutton. She was integral in helping the Cats reach postseason play in 2017.
She began coaching at Chico State in 2016 after spending the previous two years coaching at St. Francis High School in Sacramento, helping the Troubadours reach the Sac-Joaquin Section finals in 2015.
Baggio has logged considerable time in club soccer, starting at FC Elk Grove from 2013-14 and becoming a trainer at Granite Bay FC from 2015-16 and Blues FC in 2019-20.
She played collegiately at Yuba College in Marysville from 2008-10 and transferred to the University of Hawaii-Hilo in 2012.
Baggio received a bachelor of arts degree in sociology from Sacramento State in 2015 and a master of science degree in physical education from Azusa Pacific University in 2019. She previously taught Kinesiology, Health, and Physical Education classes at Yuba College and holds her NCAA National Coaching Diploma.
Biaggio said she is already doing a bit of recruiting and complimented Woodland College staff for notifying Woodland and Pioneer High school students about the new program. She also thinks some students at Yuba College will be coming to Woodland to play soccer this fall.
Olmedo, meanwhile, is well-known in the Woodland and Davis soccer communities. He has been teaching in the Woodland District since 1998, with his coaching experience dating back to 1999 and his playing experience going back to the 1980s.
He has coached at Woodland High School since 2002, served as the Chivas Woodland Soccer Academy director in Woodland, and coached the Woodland Soccer Club, the Davis Legacy Soccer Program, and the Sacramento United Soccer Club.
His teams have won the NorCal Premier League in the 12-U category and the NorCal Premier State 11-U division, among others.
He took the Woodland High School girls soccer team to the playoffs from 2007 through 2011, with the team being recognized as the TCC League Champs in 2007. His teams also held seven league titles and four section championships while also taking the NorCal Regional Championship.
Biaggio and Olmedo will be teaching classes this fall as well as coaching. Both hope to hit the ground running when classes start in September.
They also emphasized that their focus during the initial years of the program will be building a reputation within the Woodland community in hopes of recruiting more players.