The Pasadena City College women's soccer team needed two of its best players to step up on Tuesday afternoon. Both did just that as Katy Coats continued her state-leading scoring run with two goals and an assist while goalie Alyssa Holt made seven saves as the Lancers ended a 6-game winless streak to defeat El Camino, 3-2, at Robinson Stadium.
The victory not only snapped an 0-5-1 recent stretch but was the first in South Coast Conference play since Nov. 7, 2017, a streak of nine matches stopped (0-8-1). The Lancers improved to 6-5-4 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
In the 31st minute, Coats scored on a free kick from the 15-yard line, ripping a line drive well out of reach of El Camino goalie Kelly Gallagher. PCC made it 2-0 in the 51st minute when Coats dribbled the ball on a 2-on-1 and then fed Veronica Del Castillo who kicked in her first goal of the season. Del Castillo is the 11th different Lancer to net a goal this year.
Four minutes later, El Camino (2-9-4, 0-2) fought back with a rebound goal by Alexandria Katsouridis after Holt made an initial save on in close attempt by Melisia Medina. In the 65th minute, Coats built the lead back to two when she found a loose ball and blasted a shot from the 27-yard line into the upper net. ECC made it interesting on a goal by Sophia Ceman, who sped past two PCC defenders, then circled around Holt to knock in a goal with three minutes left.
Holt had a huge performance as she robbed a few ECC forwards of possible goals. In the 16th minute, Holt made a 2-hand grab of a short-range shot by Monica Bernardino. In the 33rd minute, she dove to stop an attempt deep in the box by Katsouridis. In the 75th minute, she stoned Bernardino, the Warriors leading scorer, with an outstanding diving stop a hard shot form just a few yards out. Gallagher prevented Coats from getting the hat trick just a few minutes later with a save on a point-blank opportunity.
"This was an important result for us to get back on track to compete in conference," said PCC second-year head coach Francisco Cantero. "It was a close game for most of the match. We wanted to expand on our lead when we were up 3-1, but instead we gave one up and that gave El Camino renewed confidence. Even in our losses, Holt has come up with some big saves and kept us close. She's turning into a quality goalie at the college level."
Selena Macias Farias has been a steady performer on defense in front of Holt (Monrovia High) while Del Castillo, Erica Perez, Amanda Howard, Kaily Echeverria, Montserrat Menendez, and Jillian Demasi provided strong play offensively and in the middle of the field, especially in the second half. In the first half, El Camino at times outplayed the Lancers but were aided by Holt's big saves.
Coats is the team's ace-in-the-hold as a threat offensively due to a strong right leg and her skills and quickness once she gets the ball. She upped her state-leading totals to 25 goals (60 points) and has taken the team's assists lead now at 10. On a historic run, Coats passed PCC Sports Hall of Famer Rebecca Hildalgo (2000-2001, 83 points) into third place on the Lancers all-time scoring list, now at 84 points.
The 5-foot-7 product of Maranatha High needs one more goal to tie Hildago for third on the goals list. Coats will have a hard time catching up to Kelley Hull (1997, 1999, 129 points, 53 goals) and Hall of Famer Jennifer Fish (1998-99, 117 points, 51 goals), who occupy the top two Lancers scoring places.
On Friday, Oct. 25, PCC plays at Compton College in a 4 p.m. conference game.