The women on skyline’s women soccer team have dropped from being ranked as high as number three in Northern California Community College Soccer rankings to number 10.

According to Coach Kevin Corsiglia, the women have had a lot of struggles this season due to uncontrollable circumstances.

“This has been one of the hardest years I’ve had to coach with everything going on,” Coach Corsiglia said. “I’m proud of the way [the team] is hanging on, going out there competing, as a coach that’s all I can ask for.”

One of the circumstances the team had to face was the death of teammate Jihan Abdel-Gawad on Oct. 16. The team lost a great contender in Abdel-Gawad when she was killed by a drunk driver. The team postponed a game to deal with the tragic event.

“I think the girls are starting to get more comfortable,” Corsiglia said. “However we’re still wearing our black arm bands for her.” The team has also had moments of silence for her and is trying to find many ways to remember her.

The women got their first win in about three weeks on Tues. Nov.1 against Mission College, 6-1. Nancy Chicas scored four goals to continue to lead the state in scoring with 30 goals. Bridget Winans and Nancy Esquival each scored a goal.

“It’s nice to get back on the right track,” Corsiglia said.

The Lady Trojans have four more games to play to secure a playoff spot. The top 16 teams are guaranteed a playoff spot. In order to hold on to their number 10 spot, the ladies need to win at least two of the four games. Winning all four games would be ideal says Corsiglia, but winning one to none of the four games could potentially cause the women to have a repeat of last year’s close call. Last year the women missed the playoffs by less than one game.

Freshman Nancy Chicas has been the top offensive player on the team and has been the main scorer this season. Last year’s team had a lot more offensive players than this year’s team according to Coach Corsiglia.

“Nancy carried all of the offensive load,” Coach said. “Take away Nancy and we’d struggle to find offense. Last year we were not as one dimensional.”

Chicas, and the rest of the team, had some help on offense from sophomore Aurora David. David leads the team in assists.

Last year’s team was more experienced according to Corsiglia, but this year is almost guaranteed to have some post-season play. The results of the next games will determine this season’s outcome.