Southwestern College’s women’s soccer team finished 17-4-1 in 2017 to post a rather memorable season.

The Lady Jaguars will certainly remember the 2018 season after winning the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference South Division championship.

It is the first known women’s soccer conference championship in the history of the college, according to head coach Carolina Soto.

“San Diego Mesa, the previous champions, were predicted to win it again,” Soto said. “There were very few who believed Southwestern College’s women’s soccer team would ever achieve what we have this season. The players kept that in mind and it served as motivation for them throughout the season to prove people wrong. They were determined to earn the respect they deserved.”

Southwestern finished conference play with a 6-0-2 record (six wins, two ties) while Mesa finished with a 6-2-0 record (six wins, two losses) to place the Lady Jags in sole possession of first place in the standings.

Grossmont finished in third place with s 2-3-4 record, followed by San Diego City in fourth place with a 0-4-4 record and Imperial Valley in fifth place with an 0-4-3 record.

Southwestern finished the season with an overall 12-6-4 record while Mesa was 11-5-5. Grossmont finished 7-6-5, while City was 3-12-5 and Imperial Valley was 2-14-4.

Soto said her team’s mindset started from training camp onward.

“Since day one of summer conditioning training, the mindset was to work relentlessly to continue the momentum that we carried over from last season,” the SWC coach explained. “We came up short last year not winning the conference title while pretty much having an undefeated season.

“We made the playoffs and lost in PKs, so the squad knew not to be overconfident, to not cut any corners, and returning players set a high bar for all new players. We had players who demonstrated grit and that became part of the team’s identity.

“The team knew what bringing a championship title to the college and to the South Bay community meant. They played with heart and they were determined to make history. Many of our returning players felt like last season we didn’t accomplish the goals we had set and this year they were determined to leave their legacy.”

Top returning players included Andrea Camacho (Eastlake), Ylieana Betancourt (Chula Vista), Damaris Aguila (Chula Vista) and Makayla Saenz (St. Pius X).

Impact newcomers included Anais Ortiz (Preuss Academy), Daisy Gonzalez (Mar Vista), Veronica Romero (Hilltop), Kimberly Mederos (Chula Vista), Karla Garcia (Montgomery) and goalkeeper Sharon Montoya (Castle Park).

Aguila and Mederos tied for the Lady Jaguars scoring lead each with 32 points. Aguila recorded 12 goals and eight assists in 21 game appearances while Mederos had 14 goals and four assists in 16 game appearances.

Gonzalez (10 goals) and Romero (six goals, eight assists) tied for third in team scoring each with 20 points.

Ortiz recorded 14 points on five goals and four assists while Osuna had 11 points on four goals and three assists.

Aguila, Mederos and Gonzalez each recorded three game-winning goals while Romero scored two game-winning goals.

Montoya started 20 games, posting a 0.82 goals-against average with a .813 save percentage.

As a team, Southwestern recorded 10 shutouts over the course of the season.

The Lady Jags kicked off the season on an ominous note with an 11-0 victory over Victory Valley on Aug. 28.

Southwestern scored 62 goals in 22 games for an average of 2.82 goals per game while allowing an average of 1.00 goals per game.

Southwestern had six players selected to the all-conference team: Aguila, Romero, Camacho, Mederos, Ortiz and Gonzalez.

Aguila earned recognition as the PCAC South Player of the Year while Romero earned honors a the PCAC South Defensive Player of the Year.

Soto earned accolades as the PCAC Coach of the Year.

Grossmont’s Julia Hartman (20 points in 14 games) received recognition as the PCAC Offensive Player of the Year while Mesa’s Alyssa Warner (0.59 GAA) was named the PCAC South Goalkeeper of the Year.

While the 2018 SWC team made history with its conference championship, the ending to the season was similar to that of the previous season: the Lady Jaguars lost their opening playoff game.

Mesa, in a bit or irony, came out on top by a score of 2-0 in the teams’ playoff match on Nov. 15.

“This season we played Mesa even though they are in our conference,” Soto said. “We had beat them twice (in the regular season) but we came out short losing 2-0. Previous to these two playoff experiences (2017 and 2018) I believe our program had made the playoffs possibly twice in the program’s history.”

Men’s Soccer

ALL-PACIFIC COAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE TEAM

Women’s Volleyball

ALL-PACIFIC COAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE TEAM

Women’s Water Polo

2018 All-PACIFIC COAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE TEAMS

Women’s Water Polo: Hilltop grad Espinoza named PCAC MVP

The San Diego Mesa women’s water polo team captured the 2018 Pacific Coast Athletic Conference championship and advanced to the second round of the CCCAA Southern California regional playoffs.  The Olympians had seven players named to the all-conference team, led by conference MVP Sofia Espinoza, a Hilltop High School alumnus.

Espinoza was a catalyst for Mesa all season, leading them in a number of categories while playing in all 28 games. She finished with team-highs in goals (103) and steals (81) while finishing second on the team with 31 assists. Espinoza had a season-high of eight goals on two occasions and scored at least one goal in every game. Espinoza finished third in the state in both goals and assists.

Espinoza was joined by six other Olympians on the all-conference team:  Sydney Fortune, Carly Lupien, Shyla Toledo and Ashley Greeven made the first team while Mia Lauer and Katrin Gaines were named to the second team.

Grossmont was next with six players making the all-conference list, followed by Palomar with five, Southwestern with four and San Diego Miramar with three.

San Diego Mesa’s Emma Sasson was rewarded as the PCAC coach-of-the-year as the Olympians finished 18-10 overall and 11-0 in conference play.

Men’s Water Polo

2018 All-PACIFIC COAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE TEAMS

Men’s Water Polo: Kammerer named PCAC Player of the Year

Grossmont’s Brock Kammerer headed the list of 2018 All-Pacific Coast Athletic Conference selections as the conference MVP.

Kammerer led the Griffins all the way to the regional semifinals, where they eventually fell to Los Angeles Valley College, 18-11.  Kammerer led Grossmont in total points, recording 100 goals and 75 assists, also recording team-highs in both blocks (16) and steals (30).

Kammerer had a great supporting cast at Grossmont as the Griffins had seven different players make the all-conference team.  San Diego Mesa tied for the lead in the conference with seven different players earning all-conference recognition, followed by Palomar with five, San Diego Miramar with four and Southwestern with three

Grossmont captured the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference championship in 2018, finishing 10-0 in PCAC play and 24-6 overall.  Grossmont coach Ty Lackey earned the PCAC Coach of the-Year honors

Cross Country

Mesa finishes with elite top three finish at state community college finals; BVHS grad Labra finishes third among individuals

San Diego County athletes made a big impact at the 2018 California community college cross country championships Nov. 17 at Woodward Park in Fresno.

Bonita Vista High School graduate Isaiah Labra, running for San Diego Mesa College, finished third among individuals in the men’s 5K  race in 20:25.7

Labra was among three Pacific Coast Athletic Conference runners who posted elite top-five finishes.

Cuyamaca’s Kibrom Elias finished fourth in 20:28.2 while Mesa’s Stefen Rasmuson finished fifth in 20:31.9.

Cuyamaca’s Awal Hussewn finished 12^th in 20:47.5.

Mesa finished third in the team standings while Cuyamaca was 12^th.

Mt. San Antonio College won the team title with 49 points, followed by runner-up El Camino with 90 points. Mesa finished with 121 points. L.A. Harbor finished fourth with 164 points.

Cuyamaca totaled 342 points.

There were 21 scoring teams and 169 athletes in men’s race. El Camino’s Carson Bix won the men’s individual title in 20:07.6.

There were 20 scoring teams and 164 finishers in women’s race.

Palomar was the highest placing San Diego County team in the race, finishing 15^th in the standings. L.A. Harbor won the women’s team championship.

Cuyamaca’s Courtney Clifford was the top San Diego County individual finisher in 18^th place in 19:00.9.

L.A. Harbor’s Brenda Rosales Coria won the individual women’s title in 17:59.5.

Complete results at:

https://www.directathletics.com/results/xc/14825.html

PCAC Cross Country
Championship Finals

Women’s Team Standings

1. San Bernardino Valley 30
2. Palomar 71
3. Imperial Valley 93
4. San Diego City 99
5. Cuyamaca 111
6. College of Desert 130

TOP WOMEN INDIVIDUALS 5K

1. Alissa Johnson (San Bernardino Valley) 18:57.0
2. Sabrina Benavides (Imperial Valley) 19:27.4
3. Courtney Clifford (Cuyamaca) 19:39.3
4. Dafne Perez (San Diego City) 19:47.6
5. Alyssa Benavides (San Bernardino Valley) 20:10.1
6. Brandy Ayala (San Bernardino Valley) 20:10.7
7. Darilyn Hernandez (San Bernardino Valley) 20:16.6
8. Maia Chaffin (Palomar) 20:19.1
9. Jasmin Gallegos (Desert) 20:31.8
10. Cesia Hernandez (San Diego City) 20:41.3
11. Jessica Aguilera (San Bernardino Valley) 20:41.6
12. Jazmine Perez (San Diego Mesa) 20:45.2
13. Hannah Lopez (Palomar) 20:46.8
14. Cassandra Ramos (Palomar) 20:56.2
15. Lily Armendariz (San Bernardino Valley) 21:11.3
16. Faith Stevens (Southwestern) 21:23.3
17. Jayda Martinez (San Bernardino Valley) 21:26.6
18. Kiani Fernandes (San Bernardino Valley) 21:36.7
19. Bethany Labeff (Imperial Valley) 21:38.3
20. Hannah Lockmann (Cuyamaca) 21:42.2

Men’s Team Standings

1. San Diego Mesa 30
2. San Bernardino Valley 60
3. San Diego City 72
4. Cuyamaca 74
5. Palomar 144
6. Southwestern 188
7. College of Desert 192

TOP MEN INDIVIDUALS 5K

1. Isaiah Labra (San Diego Mesa) 20:09.4
2. Kibrom Elias (Cuyamaca) 20:19.3
3. Stefen Rasmuson (San Diego Mesa) 20:30.8
4. Bobby Brana (San Diego Mesa) 20:39.9
5. Carlos DelaTorre (San Bernardino Valley) 20:46.2
6. Andres Zamudio (San Diego City) 20:49.2
7. Awal Hussen (Cuyamaca) 20:50.2
8. Cristian Alcantar (San Diego Mesa) 20:53.9
9. Michael Ramirez (San Bernardino Valley) 20:55.4
10. Mario Trasvina (Palomar) 21:08.7
11. Luis Garcia (San Bernardino Valley) 21:14.7
12. Edwin Mejia (San Diego City) 21:19.3
13. Anthony Orduno (San Diego City) 21:21.9
14. Jose Garcia (San Diego Mesa) 21:28.2
15. Nickoli Melovidov (San Diego Mesa) 21:32.7

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