The season has reached the halfway point and the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference looks as if it will be a tight race until the end. San Diego Mesa College leads the way with Grossmont College, Southwestern College, MiraCosta College and Imperial Valley College all giving chase.
Mesa has had a great start, with the lone loss being a forfeit to start the season. The Olympians were ranked No. 7 in the state in the last California Community College Sports Information Association (CCCSIA) Poll. Mesa has had a potent offensive attack, led by Violet Renard. The sophomore transfer from Northern Colorado has 12 goals in seven starts and has scored in every game. Mesa's biggest win of the season came against Sierra College (3-2), a program ranked No. 8 in the state.
Grossmont, Southwestern, MiraCosta and Imperial Valley have all had their moments during the first half of the season.
Grossmont is 4-3-1 overall but has started 4-0 in PCAC play. The Griffins are on a 4-game winning streak since entering conference play, including a 6-0 win against Cuyamaca College. Two of their losses in the pre-conference schedule came against Santiago Canyon College and Santa Ana College, both of which are ranked in the top-10 in the state. Grossmont is led by the freshman duo of Merari Chavez and Carly Reese, who have five goals apiece.
Southwestern had a difficult start at 1-5-1 out of the gate but has since turned things around. The Jaguars are 2-0-2 ever since, including a 5-0 against San Diego Miramar in PCAC play. Southwestern faced a brutal non-conference schedule that included four programs ranked in the tpo-20 in the state. Freshman Norma Kascinta leads Southwestern with five goals on the season
MiraCosta is 5-2-4 overall and 3-1-1 in PCAC play so far. The Spartans are listed just outside the top-20 in the CCCSIA Rankings following a solid non-conference schedule. MiraCosta played to a scoreless tie against No. 15 Santa Monica and suffered a narrow loss (1-2) against No. 10 Santa Ana. The Spartans are led by freshman Silje Vigeland, who has six goals on the season.
Imperial Valley is listed as one of the programs just outside the top-20 in the CCCSIA voting. IVC was 4-1-1 in pre-conference play, including a pair of 5-0 wins against Compton College and Cerro Coso College. Imperial Valley is led by the sophomore tandem of Sofia Lopez and Arely Pacheco, who have five goals apiece.