A FIRST AMENDMENT PUBLICATION Woodland Hills, California Volume 137 - Issue 1
Wednesday, Septemeber 21, 2022
One copy free, each additional copy $1.00
Soccer scores big on historic night Forward Heidi Ricketts leads with six goals; Brahmas beat Huskies 15-0 BY CHRISTIAN CASTELLANOS
Reporter
T
he U.S. women's national team scored 13 goals against Thailand in the 2019 Women’s World
Cup. The Pierce College women's soccer team can say they scored more than that as they put 15 past East LA College. Head coach Adolfo Perez was excited about the outcome of the game. “It’s special,” Perez said. “I knew we had a special team from the beginning.” The women’s soccer team also made history with this being the biggest result in program history. In his 21 years of coaching the team, he has never seen this many goals made in a game before. “It’s an all time record,” Perez said. Brahmas scored seven of their goals during the first half. The game ended with eight more for Pierce. Six of those goals came from
Photo by Raquel Frohlich Livia Pereira (right) on the field during a game against East Los Angeles College at Shepard Stadium at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 16, 2022. freshman forward Heidi Ricketts. Ricketts achieved in one game
what most players do in two years, which was scoring more goals.
Ricketts said the team played to the fullest of their ability, while
adding they played as hard as they can. “I think we did great,” Ricketts said. “Our team this year is really insane.” Forward and midfielder Natalie Villafaña expressed joy over the winning streak. “It's good to be a part of a group that wants to be better everyday,” Villafaña said. Perez said that the Brahmas’s strategy was to forget who their opponent was and maintain their level. Perez also stated the biggest challenge to the team was themselves, but it seemed evident that the Brahmas were going for the offensive plan. Passing the ball between each other to outflank the Huskies during the first half, the Brahmas scored their first two goals within 16 minutes. They again scored twice eight minutes after. In the 35th minute, Ricketts scored over the Huskie goalie. Four minutes later, defender Malinaly De Los Santos scored from a set piece.
Forward and midfielder May Htet Lu scored a goal with two minutes to spare, finishing off the first half with a score of seven. The second half saw the continuation of the Brahma strategy, with Ricketts scoring two goals within the first six minutes. Ricketts continued to score more goals while forward and midfielder Alexandra Meza added her name to the scoresheet. Forward Britney Jones made the last goal with two minutes to spare, cementing victory for the Brahmas. Perez said that the team did not try to run up the score, while also stating the Brahmas had to touch the ball 10 times. As for continuing the recordbreaking winning streak, Perez is looking forward to it. The Brahmas improved to 6-01 after beating LA Harbor College 3-0 on Tuesday. Their next game is at Clovis Community College Friday at 4 p.m. ccastellanos.roundupnews@gmail.com
Finding a new home through the beautiful game Mid-forward finds a lifeline after escaping her home country Myanmar BY PAMELA KALIDASAN Features Editor
F
reshman May Htet Lu came to California from Myanmar with her brother to pursue her goals both in education and in soccer. And since she got here, Lu found a sense of belonging as a full-time student working at the school bookstore and playing midforward for the Brahmas soccer team. “Working at the Pierce College Bookstore, we usually have these events, so I really like participating in [them],” Lu said. “In my life, all the road trips or all the dinners, and being with a team– those are all memorable moments.” Lu mentioned how she took a gap year after finishing school, but her parents decided that it was for the best that she continued to push forward. “It’s not ideal to take another two or three years off from school because it will be harder for me to continue and get my degree. So the reason I left my country is because the education is [better] than what I have back [home],” Lu said. Lu spoke on how her parents wanted her to pursue nursing, but first she needed to join a college that could support her and what she's passionate about. That was when Lu was recommended by her brother to check out what Pierce College had to offer. And she said the first thing
Photo by Raquel Frohlich May Htet Lu holds a flag of Myanmar at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. Lu brought the flag with her when she moved to the United States. she did was to look at whether Pierce had any soccer programs. “The first thing I searched was if Pierce had a soccer team,” Lu said.
“So I went to the Pierce College website and went to the athletics, and then found the recruiting application. So I filled that form
and contacted [Head] Coach Adolfo [Perez], [Assistant] Coach [Joandra Ramirez] and [Assistant] Coach Julio [Castillo], and they told me to come to practice.” She said when she went to practice and tried out, she got selected. Soccer head coach Adolfo Perez said that Lu is extraordinary. “[I think] she’s an A-plus,” Perez said. “Since day one, even before the season started, she’s always helping with the balls, with the cones, goals and she just shows up on time. She shows up everyday and she hasn’t missed a thing— session — she’s just remarkable.” Captain and Defense Natalia Puccio said that Lu brings a lot to the team and how she is genuine on and off the field. “As a player, she’s incredible. The first day I saw her I thought that she was insane,” Puccio said. “She brings a lot to the field, as far as strength, height and her skill. As a person, she’s so genuine, so respectful and she’s always the first one here and the last one to leave and it definitely does not go unnoticed.” For Lu, soccer is important to her, if not her first priority, as she said soccer was the first sport she grew up playing and how she was also a mid-forward in her national team. She said that she had wanted to make a career with soccer, however, Lu mentioned how in Myanmar soccer isn’t supported as much as it is here and that’s one of the main reasons why she came.
Club Rush returns to campus [see PHOTO ESSAY on pg. 4]
Photo by Raquel Frohlich May Htet Lu (center) on the field during a game against Southwestern College at Shepard Stadium at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022. “I always wanted to pursue this sport as a career,” Lu said. “But in my country it’s not that supported, [and] the sport wasn’t supported enough, but when I came here I saw a lot more opportunities.” Although Lu’s parents want her to continue nursing, she still plans on trying to see if she can integrate soccer into her life. “With soccer, I want to honestly make a career pathway with it,” Lu said. “There are a lot of opportunities that I’m available to but obviously it requires hard work to achieve it. So I’m really hoping to get into a D-1 school and if possible I want to start a professional career with soccer.” As of now, Lu lives with her grandmother who she said she
looks after and makes her grandma proud when she shows up to her games. “As a grandmother, she’s always curious about her grandchildren’s lives,” Lu said. “So everyday she asks me questions about ‘how my day was.?’ And I tell her about my day, and it’s really nice to have her by my side, coming to my games and supporting [me]. With her support, that gives me a lot of strength and energy to keep playing my games. I want to make her proud and show her what I’m capable of.”’
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Opinions..............................2 News.....................................3 Photo Essay..........................4 LA Life..................................5 Sports....................................6