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n April 11, excitement exploded on the field and ricocheted almost immediately around social media: The La Sierra University Golden Eagles women’s soccer team won the title against No. 1 seed UC Merced Bobcats, their first championship since the program’s inception in 2016. The Golden Eagles finished 1-0 to sit atop the California Pacific Conference, one of 21 member conferences in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, or NAIA. “To bring the first championship [to The Golden Eagles women’s soccer team clinches the conference title the home field], ...it was surreal. It was on April 11. great,” commented Women’s Soccer The athletics department, under the leadership Head Coach David Trevino. “A night I will probably of Athletics Director Javier Krumm, last year never forget.” Trevino, a La Sierra alumnus, has led and created detailed pandemic protocols that affected built the women’s soccer program since its beginning. training, practice, and game play. Through an Senior Marisol Bravo, a defender, recalled the online system, the department also kept track of exhilaration of the moment. “Everyone was crying; I grades and worked with advisors to help guide was crying for sure. It was a really nice moment; it was and support students. exciting,” she said. In April, Bravo placed among second team The conference win propelled the team to opening All Team Cal Pac Conference Recognitions, one rounds of nationals in Santa Barbara, Calif., where on of several awards for Golden Eagles women’s April 15 they lost by one point to the Westmont College soccer. She recalled the difficult days when players Mountaineers. Their appearance was a memorable were trying to work out on their own at home, achievement given the significant challenges posed by motivated by physical activity assignments, use of the COVID-19 pandemic. online athletics apps, and daily information from Public health mandates shuttered operations of Trevino. all schools in the state beginning in March 2020. The Meanwhile, as numbers university’s nine varsity sports teams—men’s and women’s of vaccinations increase soccer, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and and COVID cases women’s cross-country, volleyball, softball, and baseball— decrease, re-opening faced varying degrees of disruption. The cross-country decisions for fall are program was sidelined for the year, and on-campus underway at La Sierra team practices for other sports were delayed and then University. repeatedly shut down when COVID cases surged in the ____________________ region. Conference play and championships were also By Darla Martin Tucker moved up in the season by months.
La Sierra University
PHOTO: ADRIAN WILSON
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From a Pandemic’s Grip, Champions Emerge
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