The VC women's soccer team earned the No. 6 seed in the Southern California Regional Playoffs with aggressive offense. Saturday night in their opening post season game they continued that trend with a solid 3-1 victory over visiting Los Angeles Pierce. Josselyne Pereda, Melissa Cardenas and Janelle Garcia all scored goals as the Pirates (16-5-1) claimed their first playoff win since 2012.
THe Pirates took control in the sixth minute when Jennifer Orozco drove the sideline and struck a right-foot cross that Pereda redirected into the goal with one touch. With the early goal, Ventura lost some of their aggressiveness, and the Brahmas found an equalizer in the 38th minute.
The past three Pirate playoff games had been overtime losses, and the tie score seemed to restore the team's aggressive nature looking to avoid a similar result. Megan Henderson, Cardenas and Orozco all had solid chances late in the first half, but to no avail as the teams went into halftime tied.
Ventura continued the attack in the second half. VC had a corner kick redirected on goal by Pereda early on, and Henderson took a cross from Janelle and flew it over the goal in the 58th minute. Orozco had a nice shot on goal in the 61st before Sarah Garcia's corner kick was headed into the net by Cardenas in the 64th for the eventual game-winner.
VC had three other scoring opportunities nullified by offsides calls soon thereafter, and the Pirate defense withstood the increasing desperation by the Brahmas as the clock continued to progress. Marissa Dominguez was solid in goal with six saves for the game. Sydney Kruft, Jennifer Magana and Cardenas were also strong in front of the goal helping preserve the slim margin.
The Pirates finally put the game on ice in the 85th minute when Esmeralda Murillo assisted Janelle's goal to make the final margin 3-1.
Ventura moves on to the state "Sweet 16" for the first time since they defeated Canyons in 2012, VC will also get a bonus home game as No. 14 Santa Barbara defeated No. 3 Canyons, sending the Vaqueros to VC for the third match up this season with the Pirates. Ventura has defeated SBCC twice by margins of 2-0 at home and 3-2 on the road. The Pirates host Santa Barbara on Tuesday Nov. 22 with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 pm at the VC Sportsplex.