College of the Canyons women’s soccer opened the Western State Conference, South Division portion of its schedule Tuesday, Oct. 1, with a 2-0 victory over visiting Glendale College.

The Cougars have now shut out the Vaqueros five times in as many meetings while scoring a total of 32 goals.

Canyons (5-2-1) controlled the first half of play with its first real opportunity coming in the second minute. However, it was squashed due to an offside flag.

Glendale (4-3-1) was content to defend and force the Cougars to move the ball around, occasionally trying to take advantage of a counter play, but the COC defense stayed structured, allowing sophomore goalkeeper Hayley Bench to take control.

Bench (5-1) stood between the posts till the 80th minute, recording one save before sophomore Anabella Gonzales closed it out.

It wasn’t until the 35th minute that the Cougars found the back of the net.

COC sophomore Felicia Marquez passed the ball off to fellow sophomore Ashley Striegel, who hammered it home from 20 yards out. Striegel now owns six goals on the season, leading her team.

The 1-0 lead continued through the half and well into the second.

The pace of the game changed in the second half as the Vaqueros came out matching the Cougars’ intensity.

However, in the 66th minute, the Cougars took control back when Striegel found Marquez at the top of the 18-yard box. Marquez received the ball, cut left and sent the ball past Glendale goalkeeper Liliana Reynoso for the 2-0 lead.

Reynoso started the second half for the Vaqueros and made a critical save three minutes before the Marquez score to keep Glendale in the running. She finished the half recording three saves on four shots.

Prior to Reynoso in net, Ainsley Stephenson stood between the posts. Stephenson also worked for five critical saves, allowing only Striegel’s goal to get by.

After Marquez doubled the lead the Vaqueros’ energy subsided, allowing the Cougars to ultimately nab its first win in conference play.

Canyons is on the road for its next two matches, first seeing Citrus College on Friday, Oct. 4 for a 3 p.m. kickoff before traveling to Bakersfield College on Tuesday, Oct. 8 for a 1:30 p.m. start.

Stay up to date on all this season’s action by visiting cocathletics.com and @COCathletics on X, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.