The Santa Monica College (SMC) Corsairs ended their season with a 15-4-5 overall record, and in second place in the Western State Conference (WSC) Northern Division with a 7-2-1 record. Their record set them up to be the No. 8 seeded team in the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Southern California Regional Playoffs.
After defeating the No. 9 seeded Norco College 1-0 in the second round of playoffs, the Corsairs went on to face the No. 1 seeded team, Cerritos College, on Tuesday, Nov 22. They narrowly lost 2-1 and that would close out the season for the Corsairs.
Head coach Tim Pierce reflected on the team’s season. Pierce called it a “success and a disappointment all in one,” as there were both highlights and lowlights throughout the season. One highlight Pierce mentioned was an overnight trip to Santa Barbara for a game that allowed the team ample opportunity for bonding. One lowlight was coming in at second place in the conference just behind Oxnard College, the eventual State Champions.
“We were right in there with the best teams, but we obviously fell a little short there,” Pierce said.
Pierce touched up the lessons learned throughout the season for the Corsairs, one of which was staying motivated each and every game, no matter the opponent. Another lesson mentioned was understanding that winning isn’t everything as character can be exposed more through losses than wins and that can lead to not enjoying the game.
“A couple of those losses were actually good because you lose and think about all the things you put into that, and you have to put your best foot forward every single time, treat each other well, work really hard, take care of your responsibilities , all those things that will translate into the best performance – it might not translate into winning every time because winning takes many factors, a little bit of luck,” Pierce said.
Pierce hopes soccer can keep being academically beneficial to the players as they potentially move on to play for a four-year university.
“Pushing these guys on and making sure that soccer is a way to get them focused on life and being better – being a better person, better students, those types of things. That’s ultimately the most important thing,” Pierce said.
Pierce has one main goal for next season, and that’s to play even better next season.
“I think the obvious next step is to try to keep continuing to try to win conferences and ultimately make it to the final four,” Pierce said.
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