
Aaron Luna
Valeria Vargas dribbles the ball past two City College defenders.
In a crosstown rivalry, the Mesa College Olympians shutout the City College Knights 3-0 at home on Sept. 16. Assistant coach Scott Bergum seemed happy but composed about the victory. “The main motivation was the play the way we want to play, not being frantic, not being upset by the opponent, we have the talent to play and dictate the game and control the ball,” Bergum said. The Olympians have started conference play with a win against Imperial Valley on Tuesday, and are currently riding a two game winning streak.
The match started slowly. Both teams took multiple shots on goal, and maintained their defense. Despite the defensive first half, coach Bergum is adamant that offense, in addition to defense, is a main feature of the team’s overall playstyle.”Always happy when you score some goals, great chances and walk away with a clean sheet. So very satisfying still things to work on in progress. But that’s what’s exciting about this group is the potential is going to be phenomenal what they can do,” said Bergum.
The Olympians came running out of the gates in the second half. After having two blocked shots, Mesa got its first point at the 55 minute mark, thanks to Audrey Reed. Reed, number 12, led the team in scoring, as well as providing a late goal in free kicks to seal the win at the 75 minute mark ”She is phenomenal to work with, she’s an all around athlete, great attitude. It’s a privilege to work with her,” said Bergum. The team is scheduled to play Miramar, Mira Costa, and Palomar, then head back home to play Southwestern on Oct. 7.