PRESCOTT, Ariz. -- The inaugural season of the Yavapai College women's soccer team provided the home fans at Ken Lindley Field with another first on Tuesday night: a victory over a ranked opponent. The Roughriders defeated the No. 7-ranked Pima Community College Aztecs 2-1, moving their overall record this season to 7-8 and ACCAC record to 4-3.

"This is another great win for the program," Head Coach Rozie DeWeese said after the victory. "I'm very proud of this team, they believe in what they are capable of achieving and are truly playing inspired right now. Their belief and support of each other and their trust in the process have been instrumental in the success that we have been able to create throughout the season."

If the first half of tonight's game was chilly, then the second half would be described as frigid. That description, however, would only fit the weather as the Roughriders turned up the heat offensively in the second half after a quiet first half. 

The teams went into halftime tied 0-0, however, Pima took a 1-0 lead early in the second half with just over 41 minutes left to play. 

With just over 26 minutes left to go in the match, the Roughriders tied the match on a perfectly executed play. Freshman forward Dani Mares lined up for a free kick and sent the ball into Pima's goalie box. That's when fellow freshman forward Emma Alvarez redirected the ball to the left foot of fellow freshman forward Hanna Urtado who then sent the ball to the back of the net for the game-tying score. 

Urtado's goal was her fourth of the season and sent the Roughrider crowd into a frenzy after tying the match at 1-1. 

With momentum wearing a Roughrider uniform, Yavapai remained relentless and just four minutes later, took the lead on another beautiful play. 

This time, freshman midfielder Isabella Merino, sent a cross pass over to Alvarez who made an incredibly athletic play to corral the ball, beat her defender and shoot the ball to the right of the incoming goalkeeper for her 11th score of the season and a 2-1 Yavapai lead. 

With a 2-1 lead and just over 22 minutes to play, the Roughriders controlled the possession and shut down all Pima scoring chances to secure the marquee victory. 

In goal, freshman Lauryn Mayhan (the ACCAC Goalkeeper of the Week) was stellar while Alvarez (the ACCAC Offensive Player of the Week) finished the game with three points. 

Up Next
The Roughriders are back in action next Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. in Phoenix, Arizona, where they will play the Phoenix College Bears.