Title or bust for UC Merced women’s soccer

Little can motivate athletes more than the pain of a difficult loss.

It’s certainly been a driving force for the UC Merced women’s soccer team this offseason. The lingering sting of a season-ending shootout loss to Embry-Riddle in the California Pacific Conference Tournament championship game helped take the edge off of a summer training in the Central Valley heat.

The 5-4 loss on penalty kicks was the Bobcats’ second of the entire 2015 season and was made all the more difficult because they were the better team. UCM outshot Embry-Riddle 18-9 and had a 9-4 edge in shots on goal. But as this summer has repeatedly proven with Argentina’s PK loss to Chile in the 2016 Copa America championship game or the U.S. women’s team’s quarterfinal shootout loss to Sweden in the Olympics, soccer is a sport that only cares about results.

With 10 of the team’s 11 starters back, 20 total returners and a handful of new contributors, the Bobcats plan to leave nothing to chance this season. The quest to reach the NAIA Tournament begins Aug. 25 with a road game against The Master’s College.

“I think it’s something that we talked about every day for months,” senior center back Desiree Coles said. “Whenever we have conditioning, that’s what we think of. We’re like, ‘Oh, we have to pretend it’s one of the Embry-Riddle players that we’re beating to the ball.’

“We talk about it all the time. We remember and we’re ready to come back stronger this year.”

UC Merced should continue to be one of the nation’s best, defensively. Led by Cal Pac Defensive Player of the Year in goalkeeper Maggie Morales, the Bobcats yielded just nine goals in 19 games last year, good for fourth best in the NAIA. With Coles, Sydney Lund, Roxy Barragan and Kelsey McLaurin back in the fold, Merced could be even more formidable this season.

Scoring will again be the question entering the campaign for the Bobcats. UCM found the back of the net 44 times last year, good for 2.3 goals per game. Nineteen of those came in a trio of blowout victories, however, and Megan Atoigue’s squad scored just two total goals in three encounters with Embry-Riddle.

“Scoring goals is something we’re always looking to improve on,” senior midfielder Veronica Villacorta said. “It’s something we’ve struggled with at times, so we really want to concentrate on our finishing in our two scrimmages.

“We’re a very possession-oriented team. We move well off of the ball and have girls who can pass it. We just need to finish our chances a little more consistently and we’ll be tough to stop.”

Playmaking midfielder Daisy Bonilla led the team with eight goals a year ago and will look to hit at least double digits in her senior campaign. Karen Lepe is the team’s top returning striker with five goals and five assists.

“Making the national tournament is our ultimate goal,” Atoigue said. “A lot of the girls have revenge (on their minds) and a lot more motivation this year because they felt that pain all through training in the spring and summer.

“We only lost five, we’ve got a couple coming back from season-ending injuries, so that should be big, and I think we’ve had a lot of improvement within the squad in the last few months. Some of our kids that redshirted last year are really going to make an impact.

“We’ve got a really tough schedule – especially to start the year – so we should see how far we’ve come quickly. If we can play tough and fast, I like the pieces we have.”

Men’s soccer

Coach: Albert Martins (4th season/career record 29-21-1)

2015 record: 13-5-1, 8-3 Cal Pac

Key retuners: F Artemio Contreras, F Cody Golbad, M David Esparza, D Andy Galvan, GK Bernardo Garcia

Newcomers: M Kevin Rodriguez; F Eric Preciado, F Bryan Barrera

Key losses: GK Heriberto Diaz, D Eric Ramirez-Cranston, D Luis Martinez-Stucchi

Outlook: The Bobcats graduated just three, two of which were regulars, so they should be able to build upon the best season in school history. The UCM men lost 3-2 in double-overtime to Marymount in the Cal Pac title game, just missing out on their first trip to the NAIA Tournament. With All-Americans such as Golbad and Galvan set to finish their careers, it’s now or never for this group.

Women’s volleyball

Coach: Ai Prachumsri (1st/0-1)

2015 record: 14-10, 6-4 Cal Pac

Key retuners: OH Rachael Schaefer, S Brooke Wheeler, OH Jade Fachin, MB Genesis Hester, L Cassandra Diaz

Newcomers: MB Jaysonna Johnson, OH Dominique Andrews, OH Emily Romo, S Isabella Barbera

Key losses: OH Victoria Rouse, S Genna Garrett, OP McKenzie Willett, OH Shari Pandy

Outlook: The Bobcats return 10, including reigning Cal Pac Player of the Year Schaefer. The team has good size and athleticism and an experienced hand to run the show in Wheeler. Prachumsri has more middle-blocker depth in his first year than his predecessor ever had, which should help give the team’s offense more balance. It should be able to repeat last year’s first winning season and expect to battle for a league title.

Men’s cross country

Coach: Ryan Nunez

2015 finish: 2nd Cal Pac

Key returners: Anthony Tyler, Christopher Jones, Luis Ayala, Andres Quezada, Taylor Arrieta

Newcomers: Guillermo Rivas Jr., Luis Garcia

Key losses: Daniel Pena

Outlook: The Bobcats finished second at the Cal Pac Championships last season and return three all-conference runners from that team, including NAIA Championship qualifier Tyler. The team has to replace the most decorated runner in school history, however, in Pena. Nunez has high hopes for Rivas, and how quickly he acclimates to collegiate running may dictate the season.

Women’s cross country

Coach: Ryan Nunez

2015 finish: 3rd Cal Pac

Key returners: Karina Martinez, Sara Zaldana, Erika Ochoa, Claribel Ramirez, Sammantha Fajardo

Newcomers: Angelica Costilla, Julia Gionet-Gonzalez, Doris Reyes

Key losses: Sophia Rios

Outlook: UCM has quite a few participants back from last year’s third-place team, but lost three-time NAIA qualifier Sophia Rios. Nunez thinks freshmen will make a big impact with this team, Costilla taking over as the team’s No. 1 and Gionet-Gonzalez competing for the team’s top five. The team has depth, so if its returners keep making steady progress to complement the new recruits, the Bobcats could likely finish higher than last year.

This story was originally published August 18, 2016 at 6:55 PM with the headline "Title or bust for UC Merced women’s soccer."