The AVC Marauder soccer team finished their season on a good note with an impressive 5-1 road victory over Foothill
Conference rivals Mt. San Jacinto, and finished with an overall record of 7-9-3 and a conference record of 4-5-3, as they placed fifth.
“Over the last few weeks our attacks has got better and our offense has got more productive which has been our issue for the season,” AVC head coach Jerry Stupar said. “The fact that we got three goals in the first half, leading 3-0 at halftime was great.”
For the first time since 2007, which was then under head coach Lemuel Galvao, AVC finished with a losing record. This season also marks the first time AVC has finished just under .500 under Stupar. In his 15 plus years of coaching, this season is Stupar’s first losing season.
“I’m not bothered that we were just under .500 … my prediction was us at being .600,” Stupar said. “It’s a learning experience ... we just gelled a little bit late,” Stupar said about his predominantly freshmen team.
In the final seven games of the season AVC was 3-3-1. The record shows them even stevens at .500. What it doesn’t show is the on-the-field improvement, since the Marauders had been inconsistent all year long. During the final stretch AVC toughened up and tightened up the defense against top five teams such as San Bernardino Valley, Chaffey, and Rio Hondo, in which they lost all three games by the score of 1-0. The offense was more uncertain and more of a concern heading into every game.
“Our goal against average is great it’s under 1 on the year, the question of every match was ‘hey are we going to score’?
“I think this 2010 team defensively did better than the 2008 team did,” Stupar said. “We ended the season with 24 goals against, which is the second best in school history, so I’m proud of that.
The 2008 team was a predominantly freshman team that allowed 33 goals. The 2009 team holds the best record as they allowed just nine goals. Scoring 24 goals offensively hindered them this year. At the collegiate level 24 goals scoring and against for just doesn’t cut it.
Stupar is expecting a high return rate next season. Hopefully, the chemistry will be identical to the 2009 team and some offense will be generated. Of his 18 freshman, he cites to retain at least a dozen of them. He also expects sophomores Rosana “Rosie”
Reyes, Rebecca Milian, Vanessa Guzzetti, and Julia Celebron to return. The four players missed this year’s season because of the lack of class units obtained. Each individual athlete enrolled at AVC must meet the required amount of units to participate in athletic activities. Returning freshmen with experience and four experienced sophomores that are anxious head back to the turf is music to Stupar’s ears. Another forward, like Rosana Reyes, is the perfect complement to AVC’s leading scorer Beatrice Giles.
While Guzzetti poses a scoring threat to defenses as a winger.
AVC lost three sophomores this year—Monica Parra, Danielle Skidmore, and Breanna Dundes. Dundes was the goalkeeper, a position that is now void and is up for the taking.
“She’s a good keeper,” Stupar said. “To have two solid goal keepers two years in a row is outstanding.
“That’s going to be probably our biggest challenge next year, is getting a solid goalkeeper,” Stupar said.
Getting someone out in training for spring and through summer as soon as possible is all it takes. Stupar believes that alumni’s
Dundes and mentor Thannia Huerta will be in training to keep in shape as they prepare to play at the next collegiate level.
Huerta played for Stupar during the 2008 and 2009 seasons. She holds the record for goals allowed in a season.
“Both those goal keepers have goals against average under 1 and both have been looked at by big schools,” Stupar said.
Toughest Challenge of the Year
“The toughest challenge,” Stupar said “was getting them all on the same page tactically.” AVC had eight or more players that didn’t have any club experience, which means they either played high school or AYSO. Off the field the girls got along too well, on the field however it took a little while to build some chemistry.
Biggest Surprise This Season
“It depends on if you’re looking on the negative side or positive side,” Stupar said humorously. “If you’re looking on a negative note, I think this team underperformed,” Stupar said. Once again the time it took for AVC to develop some chemistry can be accredited. “On a positive side, the comradery that they had was very exciting,” Stupar said.
Next Season’s Predictions
Stupar believes that if he has the missing pieces to the puzzle, a first ever first place at conference, as well as some postseason play awaits for AVC.
“This was a tough conference this year.” Stupar said. “I think we’ll have a good chance at keeping the goals against under 15 next year. I definitely think we have a strong chance at postseason play.”
Spring Training
The 2010 season is in the books. It’s time to prepare for the 2011 season and it all starts during the spring semester. Spring training is going to be held from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. every day at either Marauder Stadium or the soccer field.
And just as always, coach Stupar encourages anyone with a background in soccer to come out and participate. If you have a background in soccer, attend AVC, or live local coach should know who you are.
“There are great female players on this campus that don’t try out that can really contribute to this school,” Stupar said.
Defensive prodigies Courtney Meza, Melissa Heredia and Carla Hager attended AVC last year but weren’t on the team. They didn’t try out for undisclosed reasons. These three were the voids that the record breaking 2009 playoff team desperately needed.
A lot of players are intimidated because they are an odd number of years out of high school and haven’t played in a while. Stupar wants to remind everyone not to be deterred and come out and play and “come be a part of something big.”
There are talented players that currently attend AVC that haven’t laced their cleats up and represented the maroon and silver soccer team. Such players include Shawna Saita, Brittney Rather, and Courtney Ellis.
The more, the merrier. The more, the better the chances of winning the ridiculously competitive Foothill Conference. The more, the better the chance of making a deep playoff run. The more, the better the chance of making history.
-By Donjai Richardson
