The College of DuPage women’s soccer team played their last game of the regular season against Triton College Trojans on Oct. 22. As the last game of the season, the Chaps also celebrated Sophomore Day, taking time to honor all the sophomore members that would be leaving the team after the season’s end.
The game started with both teams struggling to create scoring chances in the first half. Halftime came with, ending scoreless.
DuPage started dominating in the second half, with more chances to score than Triton. Peyton Wright broke the deadlock, giving the Chaps a 1-0 lead. Soon after, Mariel Lara and Carolina Carreon scored. The Chaparrals ended the game with 3-0 win.
The Chaps ended their season with a 10-2-2 record, their best since 2016 when they went 17-5-4.
Head coach Matt Hanna said the team was off to a slow start at the start of the game, but bounced back easily in the second.
“We felt pretty comfortable,” Hanna said. “We didn’t really shoot enough. And we knew that if we took a few more shots, we moved a little bit quicker, we would get those opportunities and that is exactly how it happened in the second half.”
Hanna said the team is looking forward to their week-long break before playoffs. The team plans to keep their practice momentum going so they can come to the playoffs as a polished team.
“It’ll just be looking to keep doing the same thing and not change too much, so we can stay consistent,” he said.
Hanna said the team record this season was a big point of pride for the team. Last year the women’s soccer team held a 7-8-3 record. “They improve every year and going to ten wins in a season is a huge achievement for these ladies,” Hanna said. “To host a quarterfinal is a massive achievement as well. I really hope that we win the quarterfinals and make a semifinal, which would be [the] icing on the cake for a great season.”
The Chaparrals are moving on to the NJCAA Region IV playoffs. The Chaps’ first play off game is on Nov. 2 at their home field starting at 12 p.m. Their opponent is yet to be determined at this time.
