Villegas has Yuba women's team in rebuilding mode
Making Yuba College a desirable destination for high school girls soccer players from the Mid-Valley is a top priority for second-year coach Rene Villegas.
After taking over the shambles of a program last season and winning just three games, Villegas brought in three-time Appeal-Democrat All-Area Player of the Year Erika Linch, who played one season at Minot State before returning home.
Linch scored a Northern Section record 188 goals in her four year career, a total which ranks in the top 10 in California history, and led Sutter to four section championships.
"Once you get one good girl, then you start getting a chain effect. As soon as we got Erika, it was, 'Oh, she's playing? If she's going to play, then I'm going to play.' And then we get another good girl," Villegas said.
As word spread of Linch's arrival, player after player came out for the team until the roster held 18 despite just one player returning from last season.
"We're going to have a better team than we had last year. Last year, we just didn't have the numbers, and the quality of players is way better," Villegas said. "Last year, we had players that either didn't start in high school or only played a couple years — we actually have soccer players this year."
The 49ers went just 3-14-1 overall and 3-10-1 in the Bay Valley Conference but just one of those players returns, midfielder Princessa Ceja, a 2013 graduate of River Valley.
Many of those who came out this year graduated from high school several years ago, but were drawn to the team as familiar names started to join the roster. Three 2011 high school graduates are on the team and four more from 2012.
"They were playing in the River Bottoms; we just had to give them a reason to come play here," Villegas said.
Villegas has them working hard to get into playing shape. Their conditioning will be a problem in the early season, but Villegas said he hopes to have them ready to compete late in the second half by the time the conference schedule arrives.
Several new recruits fresh out of high school are making an impact in the starting lineup right off the bat, including 2014 graduates Brianna Valencia (Yuba City), Alexandria Kent (Lincoln), Adrianna Zuniga (Rio Linda), Priscilla Gonzalez (Woodland) and Aracely Garcia (Cathedral City).
Valencia, an A-D All-Area forward last season, joins Linch at forward, providing the speed to complement Linch's powerful boot, while Kent and Zuniga team up with Ceja and 2012 Lindhurst graduate Elizabeth Ferreyra in the midfield.
"We have good soccer players, we've just got to mold them together," Villegas said. "We have good offense, we've just got to work on our defense and we should be all right."
Through the 49ers first three games, the defense allowed 12 goals, but Villegas is confident the team will improve by leaps and bounds as the season progresses.
While the offense clicked into place around Linch, the defense — which is made up of Priscilla Gonzalez (Woodland), and River Valley grads Naisha Valencia, Erika Gonzalez and Klarissa Gonzalez — is taking a little more time to get down as a couple of the players haven't played competitively in a few years.
The 49ers goalkeeper, Aracely Garcia, traveled the farthest to play after graduating from Cathedral City High (near Palm Springs) and should provide quality minutes in front of the net, Villegas said.
"We're looking to finish in the top three (in conference) for sure, that's our goal," Villegas said.
CONTACT Sports Reporter Kirk Barron at 749-4789.