Soccer in the spotlight again
Basketball may be coming back this week, but don’t forget about all the great soccer action taking place around Bakersfield. BC men’s soccer continued its quest for a conference title, as CSUB men’s soccer entered the Big West tournament, and the Roadrunner women’s team had a surprising end-of-season surge. All that and more in this week’s recap:
BAKERSFIELD COLLEGE
Football: BC’s defense showed tremendous potential in a 28-14 win over Long Beach, forcing four turnovers in the second half and carrying a frequently sluggish offense to victory. Antonio Robinson ran for 117 yards and a touchdown in his best performance of the year. BC will try to carry this momentum into its final home game of the season against East Los Angeles College Saturday.
Men’s soccer: After a short break, the Renegades resumed their unbeaten run through the Western State Conference with a 2-0 win over a high-level Antelope Valley squad. In a physical game with six combined bookings between the two top teams, BC pulled away with second half goals from firsttime scorer Andrew Cobb and season leader Anthony Miron. The Renegades travel to Glendale on Friday.
Volleyball: The Renegades continue their conference dominance and are now ranked No. 5 in the state. Most recently, they beat a formidable Citrus squad 3-1 at home Friday. Kami Marion had 20 kills and Yuliana Rivera recorded 33 digs as BC improved to 8-0 in conference and 14-1 overall. The lone set the Renegades dropped against the Owls was the first set they had lost at home since Aug. 28. They went on the road to Antelope Valley for their next conference match Wednesday night.
Women’s soccer: After a small step forward on Oct. 20 with a win at Cuesta, the Renegades have regressed. In a tight game at home against Citrus on Friday, down 1-0 after a Janelle Alvarado goal, BC couldn’t equalize in the second half and conceded a second score with a minute remaining to fall 2-0. They then traveled to West Los Angeles College Tuesday for a 2-1 loss. BC has three more chances to earn its first Western State Conference win, beginning on the road at LA Valley on Friday, against a Monarchs team that it played tough on Oct. 12.
Wrestling: The BC wrestling team is on the road for the rest of the season. They started their journey with a third-place overall finish at the Meathead Movers Tournament. Jonathan Hunter, at 184, was the team’s lone champion. But the Renegades suffered their first defeat in a conference dual when they faced West Hills in Lemoore and fell 32-18. Wayne Joint and Guadalupe Ayon recorded major decisions over Everardo Rueda and Josiah Quiroz, and Robert Hawking pinned Uriel Vasquez to boost the Golden Eagles’ margin. BC competes next at Vanguard for a dual today.
Miscellaneous and looking ahead: Cross-country enters the SoCal Championships in Irvine on Friday… Basketball season officially begins on the hill with back-to-back games for the women’s team against Pasadena Thursday and Riverside Friday, as the men’s team opens in Santa Barbara Tuesday… BC women’s golf is hosting the CCCAA SoCal Regional at Sundale Country Club Sunday and Monday.
CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD
Men’s basketball: The 2021 Roadrunners made their Icardo Center debut at the Blue-Gold Scrimmage, which featured a half-court game-winner by Shaun Williams. They host San Diego Christian in an exhibition Saturday night and will open at No. 2 UCLA Tuesday.
Men’s soccer: CSUB had a chance to move up to a top-two seed and secure a first-round bye if it beat Cal Poly and Cal State Fullerton beat UC Irvine. Neither of those things happened — the Roadrunners lost 2-0 to the Mustangs — but they still got to host a playoff game, kicking off the Big West tournament at the Main Soccer Field against UC Davis Wednesday night.
Volleyball: CSUB volleyball wrapped up an unbeaten four-game homestand with sweeps of Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton. Hayley McCluskey led CSUB in kills in both games, and Paige Calvin earned Big West Defensive Player of the Week honors. Now 7-5 in conference, the Roadrunners will carry their winning streak into Santa Barbara for a road game Friday.
Swimming and diving: Both the men’s and women’s teams defeated Pomona-Pitzer in last Saturday’s duals. Loren Gillilan, Mikayla Popham and Autumn D’Arcy had three individual wins each, with D’Arcy’s coming across three different stroke categories. The teams will have another dual against Pacific on Saturday.
Women’s basketball: Andie Easley won the threepoint contest on her very last shot to highlight the Blue-Gold Scrimmage for the women’s team. The Roadrunners have an exhibition against Dominguez Hills Friday, then open at home against Bethesda Tuesday before embarking on a three-game road trip.
Women’s soccer: The final week of competition brought a shocking turnaround for the Roadrunners. Entering the week with one win in 17 tries on the season and a total of five goals scored, CSUB recorded two wins and five goals in a pair of road games. The first came in double overtime at UC Riverside, 3-2 on a golden goal by Nicola Lebakos; the second was the second clean sheet the Roadrunners had kept all year, split between Flavia Burrell and Haley Slouka, in a 2-0 win over CSUN. Litzy Pimentel, who had three combined goals in the two games, was named Big West Offensive Player of the Week. The pair of wins allowed CSUB to leapfrog the Highlanders and Matadors in the final conference standings, after being voted to finish last in preseason.
Miscellaneous and looking ahead: Baseball is in Santa Clara this weekend... Women’s cross-country finished last at the Big West championships Friday in Davis, with AJ Frausto leading the Roadrunner runners… Women’s golf wrapped up its fall season in Hawaii, led by Aufa Rachmadya and Kaleigh Irey… The Roadrunners will wrestle in the Menlo Open on Sunday.