Albano scores early to take tie

The Pierce College Brahmas play a well planned out game to tie 1-1 with the Fresno City College Rams who were the third ranked team in the state going into the matchup on Friday, Sept. 26.

The Rams started out strong with a lot of ball movement and spacing. Pierce then started to apply pressure on Fresno. Despite the flashy dribbling and footwork the Rams provided, it would be Pierce that would strike first in the 13th minute.

The Brahmas would get a free kick from about 35 yards out from defender Stephanie Alcazar that was centered into the box. The ball was then put in the back of the net with a header from Marissa Albano that deflected off the defender giving Pierce a 1-0 lead.

Rams coach Oliver Germond talked about his team facing a deficit against the Brahmas.

“This was the first game that we have been down all season,” Germond said. “It was different and wanted to see how we would respond.”

Going into half time the Brahmas had a one goal lead and were looking good to upset the Rams.

In the start of the second half both teams came out strong. The Brahmas were doing a good job of their ball possession and the Rams were counterattacking effectively.

Fresno finally tied the game up in the 65th minute. Rams midfielder DJ Ortiz sent a cross down the middle and fellow midfielder Vanessa Penuna finished it off with a striking header in the bottom left corner to tie the game.

The Brahmas had some opportunities to take the lead again but both defenses would remain strong until the end of the game.

Pierce coach Adolfo Perez had a positive outlook after the game whose team came close to pulling off the upset.

“I feel we did excellent. Tactically, we did good,” Perez said. “We could have won.”

Albano who scored her first goal of the season felt the team is doing well together.

“We have a good bond as a team. That will help us go a long way this season,” Albano said.