By Chris Bremer

Cuesta’s women’s soccer team kicks off their conference league against rival, Ventura College.

The team suffered a narrow 4-3 loss to Ventura, a team described as “perennial champions” by Cuesta’s head coach, Bob Wilson. This was the team’s first game in the Western State Conference, and was played at home.

“It’s our goal to be as competitive as possible,” said Wilson, head coach of the women’s soccer team since 1995. “We have a good skill set–we move well and connect passes pretty well.”

The women’s team fell behind quickly in the first half, giving up two goals in the first 10 minutes.

“Sometimes we get caught on our heels,” said Christen Engle, last year’s team MVP and current team captain. “We are definitely a second half team.”

By halftime, the score was 4-1, Ventura, yet the Cougars were anything but out of the game. Resurging behind the foot of freshman Alyssa Harris, the girls kept Ventura scoreless for the rest of the game, with Harris scoring twice.

“We played well for our first conference game,” Harris said. “We passed really well and had good communication.”

The Cougars continued the beginning of WSC play with their second home game against Oxnard College.

The team fared better in this match, ending the game in a 1-1 tie due to a score by sophomore Chloe Lindsay.

“I feel that we had a lot of opportunities to score, but were just unlucky,” said Summer Lopez, a freshman defender. “In the first half we were passing and moving the ball well, but just couldn’t finish.”

With better passing and communication, more success is believed to come in the future, Lopez states.

Cuesta students interested in supporting the women’s soccer team can catch their last home game of the season on Nov. 8 against rival Santa Barbara City College, at 3 p.m.

“I think we did really well. We stepped up and played like the team we really are,” said Victoria Gracie, a sophomore halfback. “I’m proud of our team, we have a lot of heart!”