After an 18-year absence, Gavilan College reinstituted its women’s soccer program in 2023. Javier Alejo, a Gilroy High graduate who played on the Gavilan men’s soccer team, was named the head coach.
The program slowly came back to life and won its first match last week, beating College of the Redwoods 1-0 on Sept. 5.
Launching a program from scratch is a challenging process, especially in a sport where numbers and depth are important. Participation increased since the first matches, and on-field results slowly improved.
The 2023 squad was winless and its closest game was a 4-0 defeat. In 2024, the Rams had no wins but picked up three ties and the matches were more competitive. Gavilan tied DeAnza twice, with scores of 2-2 and 0-0, and also tied Yuba 0-0.
Now the Rams are 1-0 in the current season.
The Sept. 5 contest, on the Gavilan pitch, was deadlocked at 0-0 for a long time, even with both teams getting multiple opportunities. In the 79th minute, freshman Evelyn Palominos scored the winner off an assist from sophomore Gabriela Jiminez.
Goalkeeper Izzabela Villanueva made eight saves in the shutout. A celebration 20 years in the making ensued.
The Rams squad features seven Gilroy High graduates. Forward Valeria Rojas is a sophomore. The others, all freshmen, are midfielder Brooke Baza, midfielder/defenseman Addison Tait, midfielder/defenseman Amely Carillo, forward Maria Trujillo, forward Jae Paulstra and forward Jessica Handley.
The team has three ex-Christopher High players in sophomore defenseman Shauntell Gamble, freshman midfielder Sophia Contreras and freshman midfielder/defenseman Laurel Lopez. There are four Live Oak High grads on Gavilan’s squad. They are midfielder/defenseman Jiminez and forward Palominos, who combined on the winning goal, along with freshman defenseman Yulissa Hernandez and freshman keeper Villanueva.
The other members of the 16-person squad are freshman forward Jocelynne Reynoso, from Anzar High, and sophomore forward Arianna Fernandez, a graduate of St. Francis High in Mountain View.
