Sacramento City College’s women’s soccer team recently made history by ranking nationally among Junior College Division III schools.
The Express spoke with head coach, Alexia Poon, soon after the rankings were announced in the September 16 national rankings from the United Soccer Coaches Association. https://unitedsoccercoaches.org/rankings/college-rankings/njcaa-diii-women/
What are your goals moving forward to not only maintain your national ranking, but also keep building on this momentum for the rest of the season?
Poon: My goal moving forward is for the team to continue to play the best soccer that we can play, and working really hard both on and off the field. I think, when we started the season coming off of a really tough past couple of years — not even being close to a national ranking — the players I recruited, we all had one vision in mind. It’s to play the best soccer and show our other opponents what we are capable of here at Sac City. And I think just with the hard work and the commitment and the buy in to what we are trying to do at Sac City is just showing for itself based off of our results. So I hope we can continue to stay grounded and humbled, but also be excited for a national ranking and to try to keep that ranking, while just doing what we need to do, on the field.
How does it feel to be the coach who made history for the Sacramento City College soccer team?
Poon: It feels amazing because I came into this program actually wanting to be here many years ago. I’m a Sacramento native. I’ve seen Sac City Soccer, during its highs and lows and being a part of high highs and lows myself as the head coach. And it’s, it’s really cool to contribute to this. But at the end of the day, it’s not me. It’s my players who are making history.
Freshman midfielder Nataly Barraza leads the team with 30 points (10 goals, 10 assists), while freshman forward Kezya Alfrez-Perez (27 points) has scored a team-high of 13 goals.
What age did you start playing soccer, and what made you want to start playing soccer?
Barraza: I started playing soccer since I was 10 or 9, and I wanted to play because all of my siblings played, and they enjoyed the game.
Alferez: I started playing soccer when I was 9 years old. I started playing because I would see my dad play a lot, and so did my uncle and they’re really big soccer fans.
Beautiful. What’s the role of the new players in helping take the team to national ranking?
Barraza: Having a good mentality.
Alferez: I think, like she said, having a good mentality and also staying positive.
What are your goals moving forward to not only maintain your national ranking, but also keep building on the momentum for the rest of the season?
Barraza: Keep working hard as a team and stay positive with that too.
Alferez: Stay positive, and as a team, all work together.
How do you and your teammates keep each other grounded and maintain focus with all the excitement around this ranking?
Barraza: We gotta stay humble.
Alfrerez: We communicate really well. We talk. We, you know, hype each other up, and I feel like that’s what helps us as a team.
How does it feel to be one of the players who helped make history for the Sacramento City College soccer team?
Barraza: It feels great. I mean, all glory to God.
Alferez: It feels good. I really never seen myself, like, make history. You know? So it’s something new for me, and I still till this day, I don’t believe it.
Well, believe it, girl. You made it. How does it feel to come in as a freshman and dominate the field like this?
Barraza: It feels really good. I mean, it’s an experience people wish they had, and, like, some do, some don’t.
Alferez: It feels really good because I feel like all that hard work I have put in, it’s really becoming something here for me in this experience, and I’m really happy for it.
Do you feel pressure to continue to maintain high goals to stay relevant?
Alferez: I wouldn’t really say pressured, but I would say that it’s something that’s always there, you know, like, to stay focused and continue how I am right now.
Barazza: Yes. I feel like I feel a bit of pressure, but as long as we stay humble and we keep working hard together and build more chemistry, we’ll be fine.
How do you remain focused while so much pressure is on you guys to win championships?
Barazza: Like I said, keep working hard on practice, and, I mean, things are gonna happen for a reason.
Alferez: Same thing as now. You gotta keep a positive mindset, and I feel like we have a really good team this year, and everyone works their part. And I know we’re gonna make it far.
