CSU Bakersfield women’s soccer went up against Chicago State University in their seventh Western Athletic Conference game on Oct. 26. The Roadrunners are now 4-4 in the WAC and will be heading to Seattle, Washington for the WAC tournament.  

  They were 2-4 in the WAC going into the game against the Cougars, a team they’ve beat before. With the last two games ending in unfortunate losses on the road, a victory looked within grasp for their last home game of the regular season. 

  Their first loss came after a fierce fight against New Mexico State on Oct. 18 where both teams refused to back down. The game went into overtime, and in the fifth minute the Aggies managed to break the tension with a goal. After the Aggies won 1-0, the ‘Runners moved on to their next opponent. 

  The ‘Runners faced University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on Oct. 20. Although this game ended in a loss as well, they still would not go down without a fight. They had sixteen shots and seven shots on goal, but none managed to hit the net. UTRGV was able to break through in the 57th minute with a goal, which led to a score of 1-0 in favor of the Vaqueros. 

  “We’ve had ups and downs, good games and bad games, but tonight we came out and had a good performance,” said senior Sophie Freeman after looking back on the game against Chicago State. 

  During the first half of the game, the ‘Runners had most of the possession, but the Cougars kept their defense in-check. When the second half came around on a corner kick, freshman Dana Neff set up the ball for freshman Chelsee Duran who scored the first goal of the night in the 50th minute. 

  “This was a team we’ve been looking forward to get after, and there was that ambition to score where you just have to go. After the corner kick, after that perfect finish with the perfect contact on the ball, it was amazing,” Duran said. 

    The next score of the game was by Freeman in the 63rd minute, giving the ‘Runners a 2-0 lead over the Cougars. Not long after, senior Anesa Sasivarevic was up for corner kick that gave Duran a chance to assist freshman Giselle Michel in the third goal of the night. With time running out, the Cougars failed in their attempts to come back from the deficit. The game resulted in a 3-0 shutout. 

  “Tonight was Senior Night, but we had two freshmen scoring, which was huge,” Freeman said of the night. She and the five other seniors on the women’s team were recognized before the game, but it was not only that night Freeman looked back on. 

  “This whole year the freshmen have been stepping up and I’m really proud of them. It’s bittersweet to be leaving, but I know I’m leaving this program in good hands with Sebastian Vecchio, our coach, and all these newcomers coming in,” Freeman said.