DOUGLAS – The Cochise College women’s soccer team held on for a 1-0 victory over Mesa Community College on Friday for the Apaches’ first conference win this season.
Sophomore Kayla Davis scored Cochise’s goal in the 10th minute.
“(She) gave us our first home goal and our first win,” said Cochise head coach Andrea Daniels. “I am very happy for her. She’s been working so hard and pushing her teammates. She really deserved that goal.”
The game halted for more than a half hour in the 25th minute as a thunderstorm passed over the field. When it resumed, Cochise continued to command the field throughout the first half, but after the break, Mesa came out with a new formation and pushed up an extra forward.
“That caused some problems on our end,” Daniels said. “However, we were able to clean them all up.”
Cochise secured the win despite a number of injuries to the team. The most recent came in the middle of Thursday’s game when the squad’s only goalkeeper, sophomore Justine Padilla, went down. That left Cochise with just 12 athletes to play.
“Adriana Arrieta stepped in as goalkeeper for us and really pulled us through,” said Daniels of the freshman from El Paso. “She had a couple of great blocks and she was right there saving them.”
Team co-captain and sophomore defender Jessika Sweet was on crutches Thursday with a torn ACL, and the injury will force her to miss the rest of the season. Co-captain Taylor Bluth also sat Thursday with a partially torn MCL she suffered three weeks ago. Daniels said the midfielder was told three to six weeks to heal the injury, so she could be back sometime in the coming weeks. Freshman Cristal Ruvalcaba hyper-extended a knee and was scheduled to see her doctor Friday.
Freshman Danitza Compoy should return soon, while Franciele Bonfanti and Padilla are likely to play Tuesday when the Apaches head to Chandler-Gilbert for a 4:30 p.m. game.
Cochise stands at a 2-4-1 overall record and 1-4 in conference play.