PVCC Puma Press: April 2006

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	Photo by Kristine Francis
	The PVCC women's soccer team is ranked 10th in the nation with a 5-0-1 record. The Pumas are hoping their winning ways convert to playoff success
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The PVCC women’s soccer team set out hoping to improve on last year’s strong season, and so far, they’re on the right track as halfway through the season, they remain undefeated.

The Pumas entered the season ranked 15th in the preseason poll for Division I Women’s Soccer, marking the first time they have been ranked in a preseason poll. The Pumas wasted no time moving up in the rankings, thanks to an undefeated record. They are currently 5-0-1 and ranked 10th in the country.

“We were hoping to be 4-0 (through the first four games), but we had one tie,” says Head Coach Kacey Bingham. “Other than that, we are consistently beating teams.”

The Pumas are led by midfielder Sam Smith and goalie Jessie Walworth. Smith is the leading point scorer, scoring seven goals and adding five assists. Walworth is currently ranked 18th in the country with a 0.8 goals against average, making 27 saves on 31 shots. She has two shutouts on the season.

Both Smith and Walworth were named Arizona Community College Athletic Conference players of the week in September, along with National Junior College Athletic Association Players of the Week honors for Division I Women’s Soccer.

Returning to the Pumas this season are First Team All Conference players Smith and Shelby Snyder along with Jessica Shartz, Laura Ramirez, Brittany Gonzalez and Lori Wing.

The fact that the Pumas are undefeated is not due to luck. The ladies began preparation for the season in June. The team trained early in the morning four days a week, meeting with the speed and conditioning trainer on top of practices.

“They have been working really hard to get prepared,” says Bingham.

After going 13-2-2 last season, winning their first ACCAC Championship and posting a Second Place finish in the Region I tournament, the Pumas have set their goals even higher.

“They talk about winning our conference,” says Bingham. “We won it last year, and so they want to win the conference again. A big goal we didn’t get to achieve last year was winning the region tournament and going to Nationals.”