The Ventura College women's soccer team is proud to announce that 11 sophomores from its 2016 Western State Conference championship team are matriculating to four-year universities this fall, with five planning on taking the pitch for their new schools in 2017.
"Our goal is to help student athletes move on to four year colleges," said head coach Steve Hoffman. "I feel that our staff and Ventura College professors achieved this goal with our 2016 class we should be proud of the 11 graduating sophomores."
Heading the list of transfers is Jennifer Orozco (Buena HS), who earned a scholarship to NCAA Division I San Jose State. Team co-captain Melissa Cardenas (Oxnard HS) is headed to NCAA Division II Rogers State in Oklahoma while co-captain Sarah Garcia (Buena HS) will continue her career at NAIA school Marymount California University. Josselyne Pereda (Foothill Tech HS) will play for NCAA Division III Cal Lutheran University this fall and Jennifer Magana plans a walk-on tryout at the University of Oregon.
Meanwhile, six other Pirates will be continuing their education at the four-year level this fall. They include: Marissa Dominguez (Oxnard HS, Cal State Channel Islands), Hannah Greene (Nordhoff HS, University of Oregon), Alondra Lopez (Santa Paula HS, Cal Berkeley), Amy Neidiffer (Buena HS, Cal State Chico), Rae Ritchie (Ventura HS, Concordia University, Ore.) and Evanessa Vasquez (Buena HS, UCLA).
The 2016 Pirate team was successful on the field, capturing VC's 16th Western State Conference title in the program's 22-year history. They also excelled in the classroom, allowing these players to continue their education at the four-year level.
Additionally, VC assistant coach and Pirate alumna Daisy Cardona '12, the 2012 NSCAA National Player of the Year, and AJ Tewes '13 have committed to playing their final year of eligibility at Rogers State in Oklahoma, joining Cardenas with the Hillcats this fall. Both Cardona (Oklahoma '14) and Tewes (Oregon State '15) have completed their bachelor's degrees but wanted to complete their four-year collegiate playing career.
"I love the fact that these you women want to finish of playing after having some though times in the game they really love," said Hoffman. They really are fantastic role models.
"A special thanks goes to Scott Parkinson, the head coach at Rogers State University. I know he made the decision easy (for Cardona and Tewes) as he is such a great coach at and is building a fantastic program at Rogers State."