Sierra women's soccer win first two games of the season: Sierra College Sports Roundup

The Sierra College women's soccer team has begun the 2021 season 2-0, following a crushing 7-0 win against Merced College a week ago Friday. The Wolverines were up 4-0 at the end of the first half following two goals by freshman forward Charity Myers. Fellow freshmen Amber Pon and Emma Scott also scored in the first 25 minutes of the game. "We have been connecting really well up top, which is something we've worked on all summer and fall season, so it feels good to finally be putting goals in the back of the net when it matters," Myers said. Freshmen Alyssa Najarro, Grace Roberts and Dylan Sackett added their names to the score sheet in the second half while goalkeeper Ashley Anderson saved two shots on goal. The Wolverines are a young team with only five sophomores and 21 freshmen. Sierra will play on the road for their next four matchups, the first coming against Hartnell on Friday and then against West Valley on Sunday. "We need to have a winning mentality, which is something our coaches are always telling us and is something that I think can be very beneficial," Myers said. Football After losing their season opener to San Francisco, the Wolverines traveled to Modesto and narrowly lost 55-46. Sierra were down 21 points early in the second half, but came back and took the lead midway through the fourth quarter following big plays from freshman running backs Dylan Warfield and Destynd Lewis along with sophomore quarterback Qyntyn Pilcher. "I believe we had spurts where we played our best football," Pilcher said. "I think that was more of us clicking on all cylinders like we know we are capable of." Pilcher finished Saturday's game with 367 yards and four touchdowns. Sierra gave up two touchdowns in the last three minutes to fall to the Pirates. On defense, sophomore Roy Johnson led the way with 10 tackles while freshman linebacker Ethan Kulpin had eight and forced a fumble. The Wolverines were going to play their home opener against West Hills Coalinga on Saturday, but the Falcons had to cancel due to a COVID-19 outbreak. Sierra will play their next game away at San Joaquin Delta College on Sept. 25 before returning home to play Sacramento City College on Oct. 2. Volleyball The Sierra volleyball team is currently 3-6 following a 25-11, 15-25, 25-20, 23-25, 15-11 loss against West Valley on Wednesday. Sophomore Hannah Platt led the attack with 14 kills in the contest and currently has 97 on the season. Freshmen defensive specialists Hailee Mulic and Zelbee Rader combined for 30 digs in Wednesday's matchup. While the Wolverines have a losing record, this doesn't mean they've been playing bad volleyball. "Truly, we have not been off track," coach Alanna Whitnack said. "This is the toughest preseason schedule we have ever had and we wanted to play the best teams in the state so we get accustomed early to the level and have our weaknesses on full display, so we know where we need to focus our attention." Sierra begins Big 8 conference play at Sacramento City College on Friday and will play American River College on the road next Wednesday. The Wolverines have been the Big 8 champions each of their last four seasons. Water polo The men's water polo team is off to a 3-4 start after a win against Modesto on Wednesday. Their other two wins have come against Ohlone and Las Positas. "We feel great about our season so far," coach Chris Breitbart said. "We have a big squad with lots of depth and speed and have had the opportunity to match up against a few of the best Northern California teams as well as two great contests against some Southern California schools." Sophomore Filip Crnogoroc has led the attack with 15 goals adding three steals to his statline. Sierra will play their next game against Delta on Friday to begin the Joe Martinez Memorial Tournament. The women played their first game of the season against Modesto on Wednesday winning 10-3. Their team consists of all freshmen. Despite many not being with the program for long, the Wolverines still have high hopes and big goals. "I still think we can win the conference with our young team, Place Top 2 at NorCals, and qualify for the State Championships for this year," coach Scott Decker said. Their next match will be at home against Delta on Sept. 29. Women's golf Sierra took sixth-place out of eight teams in the first Big 8 tournament at Elkhorn Golf Course a week ago Thursday and came fifth in Tuesday's match at Whitney Oaks Golf Club. Eva Lopes led the way at Elkhorn with a 96 and the team collectively shot 424. The Wolverines shot a 429 in the match on Tuesday. "We have started out a bit sluggish, so right now, I am focused on improving scores at each conference tournament," coach Kim Silva said. "This would achieve the goal of NorCal and state qualification." The Wolverines' next match will be on Monday at the Cypress Ridge Preview and they will play another Big 8 tournament on Thursday at Chardonnay Golf Club. Women's cross-country The cross-country team has run in three meets so far in the 2021 season. They finished third at the Big 8 Preview, fifth at the NorCal Preview and seventh at the Fresno Invite. "This is a rebuilding year for the Sierra Cross Country Team. However, we do have the goal of placing well at the Big 8 Conference Championships," coach James Howard said. "We should be able to place in the top seven teams at the NorCal Championships, which will get us to the State Meet at the end of the season. Our runners are progressing and developing their endurance for the 5k distance." The Wolverines have nine runners on the team. They are Olivia Orozco, Grace Pierce, Cassidy and Kirsten Ransford, Alisa Rossetti, Olivia Sauer, Maria Segall, Isabel Simmons and Kaci Zanardelli.