VALADEZ SCORES IN 1-1 DRAW VS. GROSSMONT

The San Diego City College women's soccer team finally played its first home game of the 2018 season on Tuesday afternoon and earned a 1-1 draw against Grossmont with Melissa Valadez scoring the Knights' lone goal. 

Grossmont came out and dominated possession from the get-go, but the Knights took advantage of their first opportunity of the the day. Fernanda Verdugo gathered the ball in the middle of the field and put a ball though to Valadez, who then hit the back of the net towards the far post for the goal and the 1-0 lead in the 13th minute. 

Ten minutes later, Jennifer Lopez nearly gave the Knights a 2-0 lead, but her shot hit off the crossbar. Grossmont responded with two shots on target, which Knights' goalkeeper Andrea Kumano saved, but the Griffins kept the pressure on and Elizabeth Bagdasar scored the equalizer in the 27th minute. 

The Knights remained under fire from Grossmont for most of the second half as the Griffins got off 15 shots, six of which were on target, but Kumano came up big for City. She saved all six of those second half shots and recorded a total of 12 saves on Tuesday. 

Grossmont outshot the Knights 26-5 overall, but Kumano and City's defense made all the necessary stops to secure a much-needed draw in the PCAC opener. 

The Knights play at home again on Friday against Imperial Valley at 3:00 p.m.