Rams optmistic after tough fourth season

By Nick Squires
Staff Writer

For a program that is trying to establish itself, the Rams women’s soccer team struggled this season, finishing with a 2-15-5 record.

“This year we had a lot of freshman, and only lost four sophomores. They were a great group of young ladies,” said Head Coach Cassandra Cunningham, on her fourth year of coaching women’s soccer at City College.

The team worked hard to develop their speed and communication skills over the course of the season, which was reflected in the team’s elevated level of performance.

“Our first real standout game was against Skyline college; they were beating us 4-0 in the first half, and that was the first time the girls turned around and scored against the other team in the second half,” Cunningham said.

Difficult games gave members of the team an opportunity to shine and showcase their skills.

“Cindy Shannon, a team captain this year, is going to the Sophomore Bowl this weekend [Dec. 13] to get some recruiters to look at her, and she will hopefully transfer to a four-year university next year,” said Cunningham. “She’s the first player [we’ve had] with this opportunity.”

With Assistant Coach Nik Charilargi returning next season along with Cunningham, the only change the program is anticipating is use of the new soccer field, to be located near Batmale Hall with completion date still to be announced.

“The team will be practicing on the new field eventually, we don’t know when that will be, but it’s exciting for them. The men’s team really stepped up this year, they were the ones who practiced at another field, to let us practice on the football field. They were awesome,” said Cunningham.

When asked who will be returning next semester, Cunningham admits she doesn’t know.

“It depends, it’s a community college so you never know. Work can come into action, they could transfer to another school. You never know what’s going to happen,” said Cunningham. “Losing freshmen just depends on what life is going to throw at you.”

Although the record showed it was a tough season, the program is growing and becoming more competitive. Next season, with the possiblity of a new field to play on, the woman’s soccer team has a lot to look forward to.