After suffering a loss facing San Joaquin Delta on Friday, Diablo Valley College women’s soccer bounced back with a close 2-1 victory against Modesto Junior College this past Tuesday on home turf, solidifying an overall record of 6-2.

Though the Pirates scored within the first ten minutes, DVC quickly responded when forward Marjan Haydaree flew past several defenders for an unassisted goal, her 12th of the season, which put her at third in the state overall. The momentum started by Haydaree was clear as the Vikings consistently stayed on the offensive during the first half, with forwards taking regular shots on goal.

With the start of the second half, within minutes, shots had been fired on goalkeepers at both ends. With a total of seven saves by the end of the game, goalkeeper Danielle Davis may have been the deciding factor between a win or a loss. The seven saves put her season total at 44, which currently leads the state. In one instance during the second half, Davis managed to block a shot from mere yards out with no defender to help out.

Midfielder Vanessa Ruvalcaba believed that Davis was a key factor in the teams win, saying “(Davis) was a savior, she had so many close saves that literally saved us.”

Along with Davis’s stellar performance, the Vikings were able to break through Pirate defense when forward Alex Dusauzay skillfully passed to Ruvalcaba, resulting in a strike that whizzed by the goalkeeper. Though this was the final goal of the game, MJC continually put pressure on the Vikings defense, taking shots on goal until the final minutes.

After the game, head coach Cailin Mullins said that between SJD and MJC, she emphasized working on character skills, including playing with character as well as having a positive attitude.

“We had a good mentality coming into today’s game. Yesterday we had a fun and competitive practice, with lots of smiles and a good attitude. We’ve definitely rebounded from (SJD).”

When asked what had changed between the last game and this one, Ruvalcaba plainly said “We were upset, mad, we don’t like losing, and we had more want for today’s game.”

In an interview after the game, Haydaree said the team had watched the game against SJD three times over the weekend, with the intention of identifying both positive and negative aspects of the match.

“During (SJD), everyone was in their own world, and we weren’t playing as a team.”

Dusauzay echoed these sentiments, adding that small numbers of returning players have impacted the team as well.

“We only have six returning players, so we have a young team, last season we were more cohesive, but with lots of new players, it’s hard to make it cohesive.”

The teams next conference match is Oct. 2 against American River College at DVC.