Nailah Edmondson
City Times
Sweltering 100 degrees in the third week of August outside performing drills might be the last place many students would like to be. Not for a group of dedicated enthusiastic young women, who participated in soccer tryouts before the San Diego City College school year began.
The Pacific Coast Conference season kicked off Sept. 12th for the City College women’s soccer team, putting them up against opponents such as Southwestern and Cuyamaca and leaving the Knights with a record of 0-2.
Sophomore Laura Reyes and Freshman Anabel Benitez, both former players of Hoover High School, are also lead scorer players so far this fall.
Sophomore Linh Tran a former High Tech High School soccer player has 107 saves, including the pre and regular season games for the team.
Tryouts didn’t bring as many players out as Head Coach Andrea Milburn and Assistant Coach Tina Barreto had predicted, although they were still able to create a solid competitive team.
The team includes six returning players from the previous season and a new addition of 10 freshman players.
“We struggled through the non conference matches, but are making progress,” said Milburn.
This has been Milburn’s fourth season as the head coach of the City College women’s soccer team. A native to San Diego, Milburn grew up in Rancho San Diego where she attended Valhalla High School staying active by playing on the soccer team and running track and cross-country.
She then went to Regis University in Colorado on a soccer and lacrosse scholarship, where she spent her undergraduate years. Soon after, she returned to California to attend graduate school at Azusa Pacific University studying physical education, where she received her masters.
The Knights are showing a difference compared to last season in a good way, Milburn said.
“Team chemistry and overall attitude is much more positive than last year. They push themselves very hard and never give up. ”
Milburn expects the team to finish up the season above .500 in their conference, at the same time accumulating and maintaining a team GPA of 3.0.
Women’s soccer is evolving compared to twenty years ago.
“It’s the fastest growing sport among American youth and the Women’s National Team has been an integral part of this growth,” Milburn said.
As the sport expands with time, it increases the number of professional role model’s for young girls to look up to.
The women’s soccer program philosophy is a key ingredient to a successful team. The philosophy contains nine major points such as responsibility, priorities, respect, self-control, sportsmanship, teamwork, discipline, pride and service.
For aspiring soccer athletes, Milburn says “Practice, practice, practice.”
