After a historic 2022 season, the Hancock College women's soccer team recorded another first this week.
A total of 11 Bulldogs garnered All-Western State Conference honors, the highest number in school history. Five Hancock players made the All-WSC First Team, and Hancock head coach Billy Vinnedge and his staff earned the conference Coaching Staff of the Year award.
Hancock (15-2-5, 9-1-2) shared the Western State Conference title with Santa Barbara, marking the first conference title of any kind, outright or shared, for a Hancock women's soccer team.
The No. 13 Bulldogs beat No. 20 Orange Coast College 3-1 in the first round of the Southern California Regional Playoffs, the first postseason win for a Hancock women's soccer squad. No. 4 Mount San Antonio College beat Hancock 3-0 at Walnut-based Mt. SAC in the second round, ending the Bulldogs' historic season.
Cynthia Ramirez, a freshman who graduated from Arroyo Grande High School, finished second in the California Community College Athletic Association in points in 2022 after leading the state part of the season. The 63 points Ramirez amassed, on 25 goals and 13 assists, are school records in all three categories. She is one of the five Hancock All-WSC First Team members.
The others are defenders Ana Delgado, Leslie Ramirez, Jessica Gil and Hope Smith. The quartet of backline defenders helped the Bulldogs post eight shutouts. Hancock gave up just 13 goals on the year.
Smith is a sophomore who graduated from Orcutt Academy. She was a WSC Honorable Mention selectee in 2021. Gil, a sophomore transfer from Waldorf University in Forest City, Iowa, was a First Team All-North Star Athletic Association selection as a defender when she played there.
Leslie Ramirez graduated from Cabrillo High School. She finished her freshman Hancock campaign with nine points after scoring a game-winning goal and amassing seven assists. Delgado, another Cabrillo alum, had three points, on a goal and an assist.
Hancock goalkeepers Ally Britt and Maya Mendek split time this past season. Both made the All-WSC Second Team. Britt, a Second Team All-WSC selection in 2021 who graduated from Orcutt Academy, made 35 saves and allowed just nine goals in 18 appearances in 2022. Mendek, a freshman from Lompoc, made 34 saves and allowed seven goals in 16 appearances.
Alina Terrones, a forward and another freshman from Lompoc, tallied six points, on three game-winning goals, on the season. She made the All-WSC Second Team along with Hayde Gallardo, a sophomore midfielder and a transfer from Waldorf.
Gallardo scored four goals and had four assists, for 12 points on the season. She was the main one who steadied the Hancock offense in the second half of the Bulldogs' playoff win against Orange Coast after the Pirates made a big early surge after halftime.
Hancock freshmen Estrella Guzman, a forward/midfielder, and Kaihla Lopez, a midfielder, earned WSC Honorable Mention. Both finished the season with 13 points, with five goals, including one game winner apiece, and three assists.
Kenny Cress is a sports reporter for the Santa Maria Times, covering local sports in northern Santa Barbara County. You can send information or story ideas to him by emailing it to KCress@SantaMariaTimes.com.
