By John M. Sherrard
(PASADENA) It was the Kayla De Herrera (Bonita HS) show in the 8-3 win over host Pasadena City College Wednesday afternoon.
De Herrera, who is 14th in the state with 30 goals, scored five goals to lead the Mounties to the South Coast Conference North win.
Mt. SAC upped its record to 8-4 overall and 4-0 in conference, while PCC fell to 1-6, 0-3.
Only three goals were scored in the first half, all by the Mounties.
"We had a slow start, scoring only three in the first half," Mt. SAC coach Chris Jackson said.
"I was proud of the way the team played in the second half. We were able to go deep into the bench and still control the game," Jackson added.
De Herrera, a freshman, scored all three goals in the first period and the first goal in the third period for the 4-0 Mountie lead before PCC could get on the scoreboard in the third.
Assisting on the goals were sophomore attacker Beth Keane (Corona HS) with two and freshman attacker Sarah Scotvold (La Serna HS) and freshman attacker Ridlee Dunlap (Esperanza HS) with one apiece.
After PCC scored to trail, 4-1, Keane and De Herrera found the back of the net to build a 6-1 advantage heading into the fourth period.
Each team scored twice in the final period as freshman attacker Hannah Rueter (West Covina HS) and freshman 2-meter player Julia Pruitt (Ayala HS) added the final two goals for the Mounties.
Defensively, Keane had five steals, while Dunlap and freshman attacker Clare Rowland (St. Lucy's HS) had two each.
Mt. SAC split the goaltending duties between freshmen Grace Barboza (Rowland HS) and Senna Forkner (Ayala HS) at two periods each, with Forkner (2-1) picking up the win.
"Seanna played in the first half and shut out the Lancers," Jackson said.
The Mounties continue conference action on Monday Oct. 3 as they host L.A. Trade-Tech at 3:00 p.m.