The run to a state championship officially begins for the Rio Hondo College women's soccer team. On Tuesday, the No. 10 nationally-ranked Roadrunners were named the No. 2 seed for the 2019 Southern California Regional Playoffs.
Rio Hondo will host the winner of No. 15 Saddleback College and No. 18 Allan Hancock College in a first-round playoff game on Saturday (Nov. 23) at 7 p.m. Saddleback and Allan Hancock face each other in a play-in round game on Thursday (Nov. 21) in Mission Viejo.
Ticket prices for the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) postseason game at the Rio Hondo College Soccer Complex are $12 for general admission and $8 for all identified students, faculty, staff, senior citizens age 60 and over, and children under 12 years old.
Saturday's game will mark the first meeting of the season against both Saddleback or Allan Hancock. Saddleback is 11-5-4 overall and finished third in the Orange Empire Conference with an 8-3-3 mark. Allan Hancock finished fifth in the Western State Conference North Division at 4-5-3 and is 8-8-6 overall.
The Roadrunners just wrapped a perfect 8-0 run through its South Coast Conference schedule to capture the program's fifth conference title over the past six years. Rio Hondo heads to the playoffs with a 15-1-3 overall record and makes its fifth straight postseason appearance under head coach Jennifer Tanaka-Hoshijo.
Rio Hondo is currently riding a nine-game winning streak and hasn't allowed a goal over its last six games. The Roadrunners have outscored its opponents by a 51-9 margin this season, including a team-high 21 goals by sophomore forward Vivian Viramontes.
The winner of Saturday's Round 1 game will advance to play either No. 7 Santa Barbara City College (12-6-3) or No. 10 Ventura College (12-6-3) in a second-round contest on Tuesday, Nov. 26. Three wins are needed to advance Rio Hondo to the CCCAA Soccer State Championships on Dec. 6 & 8 at DeAnza College in Cupertino.
The Roadrunners are looking to return to the state championships for the first time since 2015.
