2024 Season in Review - COD Women’s Soccer

Under the tutelage of second-year head coach Ramon Rivas, the #16 seeded Roadrunners Women's Soccer team ended the 2024 season claiming their 1st Conference championship and the first Inland Empire Athletic Conference (IEAC) Coach of the Year award for a Desert head coach since 2018.

The complete list of All-Inland Empire Athletic Conference honorees can be found HERE

Rivas was awarded as co-Coach of the Year finishing the regular season tying the best overall record in program history with a 17-3-3 record and the first undefeated record in Conference history at 7-0-3. The Roadrunners tied for 1st in the Inland Empire Athletic Conference (IEAC) winning the first Conference Championship in program history, hosted their first 3C2A SoCal Regional Playoff game in program history and won their first Playoff game in program history.

The Roadrunners wrapped up the regular season undefeated in their final 14 games. They were rewarded with the 16 seed in the Southern California Regional Playoffs.

Women's Soccer also collected some notable victories in 2024 as they played Palomar for the first time since 2019 winning at home, played San Diego Mesa for the first time since 2018 and knocked off the Olympians for the first time ever, grabbed their first win at Santa Ana, played Rio Hondo for the first time since 2015 and beat them for the first time since 2010, faced Long Beach City for the first time, faced Cuyamaca for the first time since 2019 winning on the road, grabbed a result from Chaffey for the first time on two separate occasions and played Moorpark for the first time winning at home in the playoffs.

Freshman defender Joselyn Benitez (Palm Springs H.S.) was named IEAC Defensive Player of the Year. She started all 23 games for the Roadrunners and was a defensive wall and along with teammate, and fellow All-IEAC member, Angelica Leal, helped Desert to secure 10 clean sheets over the course of the season.

Sophomore midfielder Ruby Segura (Rancho Mirage H.S.) was named First team All-IEAC in back-to-back seasons, also winning the award after the 2023 season. She also started all 23 games for the Roadrunners and led the team in assists with 8, finished second on the team in points with 24 and was tied for 4th on the team in goals with 8. Segura also had the game winning goal, at Mt. San Jacinto, in a 1-0 win on October 4.

Sophomore forward Fabiana Zavala (Thermal Desert Mirage) was also named First team All-IEAC after a 5-year absence from collegiate soccer. Zavala returned in a big way, starting 19 of 22 games, finishing tied for 2nd on the team in goals with 9 and finished tied for 3rd in total points with 21. She had 2 game winning goals in back-to-back games. Zavala nailed the game winner in the 88th minute at Santa Ana on September 13 and then scored the game winner 4 minutes into injury time at home against Rio Hondo on September 17.

Sophomore midfielder Eva Lupita Torres (Thermal Coachella Valley) was also named First team All-IEAC after being named Second team All-IEAC in 2021. After a 3-year absence from the sport, Torres was a key contributor. She started 20 of 18 games for the Roadrunners, finishing tied for 2nd on the team in goals with 9 and finished tied for 3rd in total points with 21. Torres had one multi-goal game this season, at Norco on October 15, where Desert won 4-1. She had goals number 3 and 4 that day.

Sophomore midfielder Ximena Perez-Anguiano (Indio Shadow Hills) was named Second team All-IEAC in back-to-back seasons, also winning the award after the 2023 season. She started 22 of 23 games for the Roadrunners, leading the team in goals scored with 13 and total points with 28. Perez-Anguiano also had the game winning goal, at Golden West, in a 1-0 win on September 27.

Sophomore midfielder Miranda Salcido (Indio Shadow Hills) was also named Second team All-IEAC. Her return from a season ending injury 4 games into the 2023 season was nothing short of amazing. Salcido started 17 of 23 matches for the Roadrunners scoring 3 goals and 2 assists and was a key contributor to the team.

Freshman goal keeper Ana Rojas (Indio Shadow Hills) was also named Second team All-IEAC and made 17 starts, playing all 90 minutes in 12 of those games for the Roadrunners. She was the minutes leader in net and making 73 saves for a save percentage of 83%.

Both sophomore defender Angelica Leal (Thermal Coachella Valley) and sophomore forward Amerie Felix (Thermal Desert Mirage) were also named Honorable Mention All-IEAC after being named Second team All-IEAC in 2023.

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For additional information, please contact the COD Sports Information Office at 760.423.6641.

Information & Story provided by COD Sports Information. Photo by Michael Leone Photography.