While there have been many variables in the eight years of Lady Matador Soccer, the student-athletes who have donned the cardinal and gold have been constant winners on the pitch, stellar students in the classroom, and outstanding citizens in the community.
It is hard to find many programs that have not had a losing season while simultaneously breaking new ground with each season. The Lady Matador Soccer team has been a model of stability in that regard, rattling off seven winning seasons while helping over 30 student-athletes move on to four-year schools. 23 different Matadors have earned All-ACCAC and All-Region I honors with two athletes earning Conference and Region Player of the Year awards.
When Kenny Dale added Arizona Western Women’s Soccer Head Coach to his resume, he was in his ninth season in Yuma on the Men’s side. Dale was no stranger to Women’s Soccer in the ACCAC, having coached at conference rival Cochise. In 2013, he began balancing both soccer teams at Arizona Western during the inaugural season of the Matador Soccer Field.
The Lady Matadors won 26 matches in their first two seasons while reaching the Region I Playoffs in both years. Six players from Dale’s squads moved on to play at four-year schools including Greta Espinoza, who moved on to Oregon State. Espinoza would also go on to represent Mexico in the FIFA Women’s World Cup held in Canada.
In 2015, Marisela Velasquez took the reigns to guide the Lady Mats to a third straight winning season as Dale returned to the Men’s side exclusively. Sheridan Smith and Savannah Sibold moved on to the University of Texas-El Paso and the University of North Dakota, respectively, and Arizona Western emerged as a proving ground for players looking to advance to the Division I level.
When Alexia Poon became Head Coach in 2016, the Matadors accelerated their winning ways. The Matadors earned their first home playoff game in Poon’s first season and won their first playoff match the following year, reaching the Region I Final. Cinthya Samaniego became the first NJCAA All-American in team history after nabbing the ACCAC Player of the Year Award.
A sophomore-laden team in 2018, built on their previous successes under new Head Coach Nicole Acosta. The Lady Matadors posted a program-best 21-3 record, winning the ACCAC, and earned an at-large bid to the NJCAA National Tournament in Alabama. Christiana Boateng led the conference in goals, setting a school record, and became the second Matador named as an NJCAA All-American. Four others made All-ACCAC teams, along with Boateng, and Acosta nabbed ACCAC Coach of the Year.
The Matadors reloaded with local talent in 2019 keeping just two returners. Vera Asare joined an exclusive club as the fourth Matador to earn All-ACCAC in both of her seasons for the Matadors---joining Boateng, Samaniego, and Karla Navarro. The revamped roster didn’t match the historic win total from a year prior but did a pretty good job furthering the accomplishments of the program while reaching the Region I Final for the third consecutive season. Freshman Karen Rivas, from Yuma’s Kofa High School, became the first Matador to register two four-goal games in a season and led AWC in scoring to land on the All-ACCAC second team. Rivas was joined by fellow Yuma native Eliani Neri, a Cibola Alumni, who landed on the All-ACCAC Honorable Mention list.
The abbreviated eighth season tasked the Matadors with a daunting schedule under first-year Head Coach Ivan Dizdar. While injuries piled up the Lady Matadors still managed to grab their 100thwin in program history and earned a spot in the Region I Final.
The Lady Matadors improved on a strong first campaign under the direction of Dizdar, winning 11 games, an eight-win improvement from the year prior and capturing the Region I championship with a convincing
9-0 win over Yavapai. The Lady Matadors fell short in the West District championship game, falling 2-1 to Salt Lake. Arizona Western saw three players earn All-ACCAC honors, led by first-team selections Diana Sanchez and Jaeda Centeno while Paulina Fierro was named to the second team.
In now his third season in charge, Dizdar has his eyes set on a bigger prize in 2022, a trip to the national tournament.