THE SHOW GOES ON

By Brandon Petersen

Officials never get the love they deserve.

In fact, the only time they're noticed is when someone's yelling at them.

But on Saturday afternoon at Orange Coast College, they were the quiet heroes — racing back to the pitch on short notice after an extended delay to make sure the Westcliff women's soccer team could play its Senior Night match.

When the whistle finally blew, the Warriors made the wait worth it.

Behind an eight-goal barrage and a total-team performance, the Westcliff women's soccer team (14-1-1, 7-0-0) cruised past Cal Maritime, 8–0, to clinch the Cal Pac regular season championship outright.

As if that weren't enough, the Warriors collectively extended their team wins program record by one more game, and Jordyn Gather tied the single-season program mark with assists in a season (nine).

Gather opened the scoring up as well in the 12th minute off a feed from Isabella Covarrubias, and the rout was on.

Dubs all-time leading scorer, Jysabella Tolentino, added another record-enhancing score seven minutes later, and Emma Albino made it 3–0 just before halftime with the goal of the day, a laser to the top left corner from 30 yards out.

In the second half, Brianna Mejia, Amylette Lopez, Covarrubias, Stephanie Serrato, and Gabriella Arredondo all joined the party as the Warriors peppered the net with 44 shots — 22 on goal — while holding Cal Maritime to two attempts all afternoon.

Head coach Jack Gidney admitted the day took a toll, but his pride in the group shone through.

He said he felt "about 100 years old" by the end of it but was simply glad the game got played.

He thanked Coach Mike and everyone at Cal Maritime for their patience and professionalism, calling them "top human beings" and saying he "cannot say enough good things" about their cooperation.

Gidney said he was absolutely thrilled for his seniors to have the day they deserved.

They continue to set new records and push the standards of how the program is viewed nationally, he said, emphasizing that the team "would not be here without them." He singled out the three captains — Jaz (Arevalo), Jordyn, and Kayli (Cokely) — along with Jay, calling the four of them Westcliff legends who have "set performance standards for all and will be sorely missed."

"To send them and their classmates out as our right league champions for the first time is a wonderful feeling," Gidney said. "We'll circle the wagons now before focusing on the last league game for a perfect season, the tournament, and hopefully nationals."

Between the record-setting offense, the calm handling of a chaotic start, and a referee crew that went above and beyond to make Senior Night possible, it was a day of grace under pressure — and one the Warriors won't soon forget.