Courtesy Jaguars Athletics
By Gabriel Gordillo
It may be the Year of the Snake in China, but in San Diego County it is the Year of the Jaguar.
Southwestern College women soccer players are back on top as Pacific Coast Athletic Conference champions, their third title in eight years. SWC’s dynastic futbol fantasticos rebounded from last year’s devastating loss in the championship game on a missed penalty kick.
In 2025 the Lady Jags reached their goal by not allowing other teams to score any.
Impregnable goalkeeper Aaliyah Campbell was sovereign of shutdown and sultana of shutouts. She was PCAC Player of the Year and Goalkeeper of the Year.
“A lot of people doubted we could do it,” she said. “We had a brand-new team – a young group with only five returners – but we proved that heart and belief can take you a long way.”
Last year’s PK loss was fuel, Campbell said.
“After falling short of winning PCAC last year by just one point, I came into this season with something to prove,” said Campbell. “It took a lot of grit, focus and resilience to push through everything. Winning PCAC made it worth all the hard work and sacrifice.”
Head coach Carolina Soto had a low-key approach to the high-stakes championship match. She told her players not to rise to the occasion, but to rely on their training.
“We treated it like a tournament,” she said. “You can see it as pressure or you can see it as privilege. These players saw it as a privilege. At the end of the day all their hard work led to this opportunity. Now let’s close. It was in our hands to bring this championship home.”
Women’s soccer is Southwestern’s most consequential sport of the past decade and consistently competitive. Trustee Robert Moreno said he is a fan.
“If there is one constant in Jaguar athletics, it is the dominance of our women’s soccer program,” he said. “Year after year these young women show up, play hard and bring home championships. They are everything we embody at Southwestern College – resilience, excellence and unstoppable drive.”
Moreno said he is an advocate for athletics at Southwestern and that the women’s soccer program is showing the way.
“They don’t get the recognition they genuinely deserve,” he said. “Their success is South Bay greatness on full display. They represent what it means to be a Jaguar on and off the field.”
Two years ago the women’s soccer program became a national story when its players suited up as the women’s basketball squad when the college could not field a team. Their selflessness and college spirit won the hearts of the community, even though the couldn’t really play basketball.
The can, however, really play soccer.
