Canyons Wins Third Straight 3-1 Over No. 17 Citrus

By Mari Kneisel/COC Sports Information 

College of the Canyons commanded a 3-1 Western State Conference (WSC), South Division victory over visiting Citrus College on Tuesday night, boosted by a pair of goals from freshman Bailey Williamson. 

Canyons (11-4-1, 7-2-1) had previously dropped a 1-0 result at Citrus earlier in the month but his time around, Canyons worked to shut down No. 17 state ranked Citrus (10-4-1, 6-4) and make its way through the Owls' back line.

Williamson struck first in the third minute, giving the Cougars an early edge. The play developed on the left side of the field where several Cougars worked the ball around the Citrus defense. Sophomore forward Victoria Martinez slotted a pass through to the right side where Williamson ran through and hammered the ball to the near post past Citrus goalkeeper Liliana Miramontes.

Canyons led for eight minutes before Citrus answered back in the 11th minute to bring the match back to an equal playing field. 

However, the Cougars continued to control the pace of the offensive drives ultimately working to take the lead back in the 37th minute. 

Again, it was the forward pair of Martinez and Williamson working together for the 2-1 lead. Sophomore midfielder Ashley Striegel beat a Citrus player at midfield to slot the ball down to the end line for Martinez making the diving run. Martinez found Williamson running through the box where she struck the ball to take back the lead with her sixth goal of the season.

Martinez stayed active on the offensive line, finding one of her own in the 61st minute to give Canyons a little security for the remaining 30 minutes. This time it was sophomore midfielder Felicia Marquez assisting the play, beating a Citrus player at midfield and pushing forwarded to slot Martinez up the middle landing her in a one-on-one with Miramontes. A quick tap around the goalkeeper and a calm placement led to her 10th goal of the year and a 3-1 Cougar victory. 

Canyons was backed by sophomore goalkeeper Hayley Bench (8-3-1) for the full 90 minutes, only conceding the one goal and tacking on another win.

Miramontes finished her 90 minutes with a total of six saves on Canyons' nine shots on goal, allowing the three to get by.

The Cougars are set to continue their three-game win streak in conference play later this week, hosting Bakersfield College on Friday, Nov. 1 for a 6 p.m. kick-off.

Stay up to date on all this season's action by following the College of the Canyons Athletic department on social media at @COCathletics on X, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. 

—Photo by Carla Sophia Velasco/COC Sports Information