Martinez Nets Pair of Goals, Canyons Wins Third Straight
By Mari Kneisel/COC Sports Information
College of the Canyons earned its third consecutive win in its 2024 home opener on Friday, this time taking down visiting Fullerton College in a 3-1 final score.
Canyons (3-1) outshot the Hornets 17-3 with most of the goal-scoring action coming in the first half.
COC sophomore Ashley Striegel kicked off the action in the 18th minute with an unassisted goal, her fourth of the season in just as many games.
Around 10 minutes later, sophomore Victoria Martinez found her first goal of the game, before finding the back of the net for a second time in the 40th minute. Martinez was assisted by Sofia Soler and Leyla Goodman and now stats three goals.
Canyons goalkeeper Amanda Hurlimann led her team from between the posts for the first half with the Cougars' defense allowing her to pick up the save on a shot from Fullerton's Kimmy Sperling.
Hurlimann split her time once again with freshman goalkeeper Hayley Bench, who closed out the second half.
Though the Cougars had eight more shots in the second half, they could not put another past Fullerton's goalkeeper Kyra Mangini, who finished the night with six recorded saves.
The COC defense allowed only one other shot on goal which snuck past Bench in the 90th minute to round out a 3-1 Canyons victory
Canyons is on the road for its next matchup against San Bernadino Valley College at 6 p.m. before returning to Cougar Soccer Field on Tuesday, Sept. 17 for a matchup against the No. 17 state-ranked Santa Barbara College Vaqueros. Kick-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Stay up to date on all this season's action by following the College of the Canyons Athletic department on social media at @COCathletics on X, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.
—Photo by Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director