Palomar midfielder Kaitlyn Crone clears the ball from the goal box on Aug. 28 during the game against Irvine Valley at Minkoff Field. Photo: Marcela Alauie | The Telescope
The Palomar Comets women’s soccer team started its season off with a 0-0 tie against the visiting Irvine Valley College Lasers.
Before the game, Palomar College coach Hector Hernandez mentioned how Irvine Valley always plays tough. Nevertheless, he said he felt confident about the teams’ depth, and saw this as a chance to start fresh after a tough season last year, when the team finished with a 2-15-2 record.
“We want to be able to give ourselves an opportunity, so we want to make sure that we keep the scoring low,” Hernandez said.
Goalkeeper Valentina Zito, a freshman from Hackensack High School (Hackensack, N.J.), was the hero of the day with 13 saves, including a penalty kick save 31 minutes in that could’ve put Irvine Valley ahead.
“I think for a first game we did awesome,” Zito said. “We still have a lot to work on, but for our first game we did really good.”
Irvine Valley played a real physical game against the Comets, wearing them down on the defensive end. Their goalkeeper, freshman Herminia Verduzco, only had three saves.
Lasers head coach Joe Supe spoke after the game about how he felt his team handled themselves.
“I feel we did what we aimed to do, which was to dominate the game physically,” Supe said while adding, “but we could’ve done a better job at finishing.”
The Comets will be back in action on Tuesday, Sept. 2, when they play host to visiting Fullerton College.
