Last season was the closest the women’s soccer team had been to the championship title since 2009.  

“This year we’re a lot stronger,” said 19-year-old center forward and newly-appointed co-captain Erica Lim.  

Lim is a returning sophomore this year. She secured the Hawks their position in the semi-finals last season with a solo goal scored against Modesto Junior College during second overtime.

Because of a concussion she received from an indoor tournament, she was only able to participate for one week of the three-week conditioning period prior to the beginning of the season.  

Going into a new season, team members said they always feel a need to top what was previously accomplished the last season or to make up for any mistakes or shortcomings that may have occurred.

For most of the team’s players, this is their first year playing for the Hawks.  

Co-captain Vanessa Curtis, a 19-year-old center defender, said the team was “not as in sync as we need to be but we’re still trying to figure each other out. We’re all meshing really well. We have a very talented group.”

Curtis said that her job as captain is to get the team ready to play, make sure that everyone is in the correct uniform, knows where they are going and to let them know they need to be ready to play.

Both of the co-captains as well as head coach Cesar Plasencia said there was some concern for the high number of injuries that have already occurred thus far during the season.

Lim added that the team merely needed to “get our injured players back and healthy.”

Lim said that as far as playing soccer goes the team has clicked easily.  They’re still getting to know how everybody plays and they’re getting better with each practice and each game.

Plasencia has been the head coach of the team for 11 years. He said he intends primarily to “reinforce concepts and principles.”

His expectations are the team being able to make it back to the final four. The co-captains affirmed that this goal would be reached as well and met with success.