LACEY — Defenses reigned supreme Saturday afternoon as the South Puget Sound Community College and Centralia College women’s soccer teams played to a 0-0 stalemate at the Regional Athletic Complex to open NWAC play.
All 11 combined shots on goal between the two schools were saved by goalkeepers. SPSCC freshman goalkeeper Dariana Calix Villegas swatted seven shots, including three in the final 15 minutes. Centralia College freshman goalkeeper Taybree Hansen saved four shots.
The game came down to a free kick in the final seconds by Centralia College freshman and Timberline graduate Lina McDaniel. Her shot was on line, appearing to hook enough for a dazzling game-winner, but it nailed the top of the crossbar out the reach of Calix Villegas and bounced out of harm’s way as time expired.
In the short history of the SPSCC women’s soccer program, it’s the first time the Clippers have earned a point in the standings against Centralia College, which was previously 8-0-0 against SPSCC since 2022.
“We created opportunities to score goals, and we just didn’t put them away today. We learned a lot about our defensive structure,” SPSCC second-year head coach Ben Willis said. “Overall, getting a 0-0 tie in the first game and getting our first point against Centralia ever, you take that as a win, even though you feel a little bit disappointed that you don’t come away with three points.”
The first half was dominated by both defenses. Centralia College earned its first of three corner kicks in the first half 11 minutes in, but neither team recorded a shot until 26 minutes into the match when SPSCC’s Niki Covert missed wide left.
Once the first shot flew, then they quickly multiplied. Calix Villegas stopped four shots by CC in the final 16 minutes of the first half.
Then, in the second half, it was Hansen’s turn. She knocked away shots by SPSCC’s Alana Holroyd and Riley Redfern-Hardisty in the opening minutes of the frame before both offenses went cold for an extended stretch.
Calix Villegas, nicknamed Gata, made the play of the day in the 74th minute with a full-extension dive to her left to save a shot by the Trailblazers.
“Gata is a phenomenal goalkeeper. She comes in from a fantastic background,” Willis said of Calix Villegas. “We’re very fortunate to have her here because I think she has the ability to be one of the best goalkeepers in our conference and move on to a very high level of the game.”
Willis described his second-half offense as “chaotic.” He and his coaching staff yelled for their team to increase their pace of play, and while they got what they wished for, the offense became sporadic and shots were hard to come by. He chalked the chaos up to nerves, especially from 12 freshmen playing in their first NWAC game.
On the other side, Centralia College assistant coach Henry Gallanger was impressed by how the Trailblazers maintained pressure with their attackers on offense and stymied the Clippers into difficult passes on defense.
“They definitely came out with the energy that we wanted. Winning on the road is always hard,” Gallanger said. “We’ve had a lot of success against SPSCC, but we also knew that they were a much improved team this year. We didn’t want to come up here and just take it easy or relax.”
While both teams played in the NWAC Friendlies in Tukwila last week and competed in games that will count toward the overall record, Saturday’s match is the first that will count toward postseason scenarios.
Willis, in his second season as the SPSCC head coach, believes his team is already on its way toward accomplishing its collective goal of being “the hardest-working team in the NWAC” with a “workhorse mentality.”
He enforces a standard that he calls “the Clipper way” with five things that the team lives by every day. Those five things remain locked behind closed doors, but the desire to have a resounding work ethic triumphs above all else.
“We’re not always going to be the best team in the NWAC. We’re not going to be the best team on the field every game, but the expectation is we’re going to be the hardest-working team on the field,” Willis said. “That comes into practice, our lifts, and all of our recovery. I expect everything that we do to be as professional as possible.”
SPSCC (2-0-1, 0-0-1 NWAC) returns to the RAC Wednesday, Sept. 2 to face Clark College, while Centralia College (2-0-3, 0-0-1 NWAC) will host Lower Columbia that same day.
