Fresno City College’s 2021-22 Women’s Soccer team finished the season ranked #6 in the nation out of the 20 total ranked National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division III colleges by United Soccer Coaches.

Freshman midfielder Hannah Martin was named the Central Valley Conference (CVC) MVP. Head Coach Oliver Germond also won Coach of the Year, and defender Lauryn Salazar won Freshman of the Year. The team also finished the season as CVC champions.

Martin said she was excited to win the award, but was more proud to be CVC champions.

“I was really excited that our team won the league, that was more important to me,” she said.

Because the pandemic canceled the 2020-21 season, players on the 2021-22 team consisted of the 2019, 2020 and 2021 graduating classes.

Germond said this made it difficult for the team to start the season strong.

“We struggled a little bit early in the season scoring against teams that we probably should have beaten, but eventually we figured it out,” he said.

They lost two of their first three games and tied in the other. Following this, they did not lose once until the semifinals.

“After that start, we knew we had to prove ourselves and it wasn’t just gonna come easy,” Martin said.

In the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) playoffs, the team was the eighth seed, and beat the ninth, first and fourth seeds to make it to the semifinals. 

Two of the teams’ final three wins came on penalty kicks, with their win over Folsom Lake going the full span of the game, including two overtime periods, before seeing the game decided 5-4 via penalty kicks.

The Rams’ season came to an end with a 2-1 loss to Cypress College. They finished the season with a record of 15-3-7.

The season was a great experience for the freshman, according to Germond, and also the freshmen themselves.

“It was honestly a great experience for my first time,” freshman forward Jazmin Mora said. “We did have great upperclassmen that showed great support for us and everything, so that was pretty awesome.”

“I’ve played with some of these girls for already two years,” Freshman of the Year and defender Lauryn Salazar said. “Overall it was a good experience.”

Germond said their playoff run was likely the main reason for their USC ranking.

“Getting to the state final four with a majority freshman team was amazing,” he said. “Hopefully now we can go one step further and have a chance to win it.”

Martin echoed those sentiments, saying “We definitely have some unfinished business to attend to.”

FCC Women’s Soccer team is ramping up for next semester’s season with a few scrimmage games each month. 

They played against Dominican University and Sonoma State on March 19, and will be playing against CSU Bakersfield and Arizona Western on April 23.

The schedule for their upcoming scrimmages can be found here.