Women's Soccer opened its 2023 Western State Conference schedule against the winningest program in the circuit's history and, despite a valiant effort, fell 5-1.  The Cougars battled for the full 90 minutes in a game that felt much closer than the score.  The visiting Pirates scored their first goal in the opening ten minutes, but a goalie switch by the Cougars, limited them to just one more tally before the end of the half.   After the break, Ventura bounded back into action and found the back to take a three-goal lead; however, Freshman Hailey Hallford responded with her first collegiate goal to put the Cougars back within two tallies of the Bucs.  Ventura finally put the game out of reach with two more goals as the Cougars' offensive push left their defense exposed in the eventual 5-1 loss.  Cuesta Freshman Goalkeeper Erika Enriquez posted a career-high nine saves during her 70 minutes in the nets, while the Cougars' record dropped to 1-5 on the season and 0-1 in Western State Conference play.  

The Cougars take the "beautiful game" to Santa Maria this Friday (4 PM) to face local rival Allan Hancock in another WSC contest.