DVC needs one more victory to reach the CCCAA Soccer Championships

Noelle Lemos had a hat trick and the No. 1-seeded Diablo Valley College women's soccer beat visiting No. 8 Las Positas 4-0 Tuesday in Round 2 of the CCCAA Northern California Regionals.
Enjoying the best season in program history, the Vikings will host Big 8 rival San Joaquin Delta at 2 p.m. Saturday in Round 3, and are one win away from the state's final four in Ventura.
The Vikings (16-1-6) have never advanced this far in the playoffs.
"It's a very proud moment," DVC coach Cailin Mullins said. "I knew this group was special at the start. They're a nice group of kids. They really take being a soccer player serious, and so I'm so happy that we've been able to experience the successes we've had. I take a lot of pride in the way they conduct themselves, and the way they play with class on the field."
Las Positas, which scored a program-record of 77 goals this season, didn't have much success against the well-organized and rock-solid Vikings, who shifted seamlessly from offense to defense.
Lemos, who has 18 goals this season, put the Hawks on notice with a goal in the ninth minute off a nice assist from Cameron Chan, her sixth assist of the season. Lemos made it 2-0 in the 28th minute with a follow-shot after Vanessa Ruvalcaba stole the ball and rocketed a shot off the crossbar.
Ale Gonzalez upped the margin with a follow-shot in the 44th minute.
Lemos, a former Benicia High star and ex-DVC assistant coach, rounded out the scoring in the 88th minute off a throw-in.
"We just kept pressing them the whole game and our score shows it," said Lemos, who scored twice in a first-round 6-1 win over Solano. "We want everyone to know that we are the best in NorCal."
Mullins saw her team, which won its first Big 8 title this season, execute the game plan to near-perfection.
"If we could have created the perfect scenario as a coaching staff, that's exactly what we would have wanted to happen," Mullins said. "We wanted to get on top of them early and take an aggressive posture early on, and we were able to do that as well as put goals in the back of the net, which enabled us to sit back and control the game."
Mullins could give out a bunch of games balls. She praised the team's outstanding group of defenders: Jessica Jaime on the left; Deijiana Dargan and Zoey Ramer in the center; and Andrea Weinstein on the right, with support at that spot from Sabrina DeBardeleben, who locked things down over the final 30 minutes.
Additionally, Chloe Lindemann was outstanding in the midfield, along with Megan Melara and Vanessa Ruvalcaba. Karla Ramos was also excellent at left midfielder, and Gonzalez distributed the ball beautifully.
Las Positas also enjoyed a historic season under coach Paul Sapsford. The Hawks took a thrilling 4-3 win over No. 9 Sierra in the first round despite playing 10 vs. 11 for two-third of the contest, as Camilla Fonseca scored two goals, including the winner.
Outstanding Hawks sophomore forward Yesica Morales played Tuesday with her right hand heavily bandaged after suffering a broken hand and wrist in the first half against Sierra. She completed the Sierra game not knowing the extent of the damage.
"All season we did really good, we played for each other; just today we couldn't get the outcome," Morales said of Tuesday's loss.
-- Matt Schwab