By Jim Richards
One player is a well-known standout in the area and another is just learning the trade.
But both Sheila Luna and Dom Papa will be leading their respective SMCC soccer teams into what both hope will be the Region I playoffs in this the final week of the regular season.
Behind a whopping six-goal effort against Glendale, Luna was named the ACCAC’s Women’s Soccer Player of the Week this past week, marking the first time a Cougar soccer player has won the award this season.
Luna scored eight goals in two victories last week that extended the Cougars’ winning streak to four games as the SMCC women (6-9-1) head into the final week in a sixth-place tie with Gateway CC (6-9-1), half a game behind fifth-place Scottsdale. Six teams go to the playoffs.
“She’s just getting used to the game,” Cougars’ women’s coach Marcelo Piana said of Luna, who moved into second place in the ACCAC points standing with 50 (15 goals, 20 assists.) “She’s very raw. She’s never been coached. Most of her playing time was in high school (Phoenix Maryvale) and a Sunday league.
“But she has a passion for the game. You can tell she’s going to be a heck of a player.”
Many ACCAC women’s soccer players play club soccer in the offseason, but Piana has only three players that are from the club circuit, another indication of the fantastic job he’s done in rebuilding a program that didn’t field a team a year ago.
Papa was a well-known club player in the Phoenix area before playing at the NCAA Division II level with Cal Poly Pomona (LOOK UP). He opted to return to the Valley after chatting with several Cougars over the offseason and is now making a name for himself in the ACCAC.
With 37 points (14 goals, nine assists), he’s third in the ACCAC in scoring on a Cougars team that is currently in a three-way tie with Arizona Western and Scottsdale for fourth place, each at 7-7-2. Phoenix College (6-7-3) is just behind, creating a four-team race for three playoff spots.
The Cougars can clinch a playoff stop for the second consecutive season with win Wednesday (4:30 p.m.) at Phoenix College (9:30 a.m.) or a win Saturday afternoon at home against Mesa (look up times)
The SMCC women will likely need victories in both games against PC (7 p.m.) and Mesa (noon) to reach the playoffs.
“The girls know the situation,” Piana said. “Basically, two wins will put us in.”