Chaffey scores in second half against Fresno City to earn spot in CCCAA Women's Soccer Championship
SACRAMENTO - Serenity DeLaTorre took a nice pass from Kayla Bergin and scored in the 62nd minute on Friday as unbeaten Chaffey College beat Fresno City, 1-0, to move into Sunday's title tilt at the CCCAA Women's Soccer Championship at American River College.
The victory kept a "0" in Chaffey's loss column and improved their overall record to 22-0-2 into the championship game where the Panthers will face the winner of Friday's second semifinal showdown between San Joaquin Delta and Saddleback. Chaffey is the state's last unbeaten team among all women's and men's community college programs.
Chaffey held a 6-2 advantage in shots in the first half but couldn't find the back of the on any of them. In fact, the Rams' defense didn't allow any shots on goal. Fresno got an early shot against Panthers' goalie Autumn Gomez in the 12th minute but that was the only one that was on target.
The teams battle to a 0-0 deadlock at intermission and there was only one shot - a wide attempt from Chaffey's Sydney Cotter in the 48th minute - over the first 16 minutes of the second half. However, DeLaTorre changed that in the 62nd when Bergin won a goal kick on her half of the pitch and countered through the Rams' defense. She slid a pass with her right foot between two defenders to DeLaTorre who got it in the box and knocked it over the head of goalie Riley Pointer with her left foot.
It was DeLaTorre's ninth goal of the season and Bergin's fifth assist and team-best 47th point.
Fresno tried to even the score down the stretch, getting a pair of shots by Sarah Cox but Gomez saved one and the other was blocked.
Chaffey outshot the Rams, 11-5, for the match but Fresno led 3-1 on shots on goal. Gomez saved all three of the shots on goal she faced.
Fresno, which captured the 2017 state championship on the same American River College field, went an impressive 17-3-4 overall while capturing the Central Valley Conference with a 12-1-1 mark.