Women's Soccer Breaks into National Ranking

For the first time ever, the Hartnell Women’s Soccer team has broken into the national top 20 rankings, at No. 12. The latest poll by United Soccer Coaches for the National Junior Colleges Athletic Association (NJCAAA) Division III, released Sept. 21, puts Hartnell in very good company, including nine other California Community College teams. Cypress College in Orange County is ranked No. 2.

Also on the list, at No. 16, is Ventura College, which was undefeated until its loss to the Panthers on Sept. 11, 3-0. Another win that helped earn Hartnell the national attention was its 2-0 victory over Sierra on Sept. 17.

“We knew we beat two really good teams,” said 11-year Head Coach Ivan Guerrero.

With a 5-2 season record, Hartnell will travel to American River on Sept. 24, followed by a home game against Diablo Valley on Sept. 28. The team will start its conference season with a road game at Evergreen Valley on Oct. 5.

The Panthers approach each game with a shutout in mind, Guerrero said, and they hammered Allan Hancock, 7-0, on Sept. 21.

That game included an unassisted goal by forward Belinda Ascencio, a sophomore from Soledad High School, who has seven goals so for and a shooting percentage of .467.

“Everybody that was there was like, ‘Oh, wow,’” Guerrero said of that particular goal, praising Ascencio’s “quality shots – just the individual skill work, the technical ability.”

But defense continues to be most important, he said.

“When it’s all said and done, I think it’s our defensive work that’s really going to help us get those close games, like the Sierra game. That’s kind of how we look at it. We’ve just got to win 1-0.”