Will the third season of Reedley College women's soccer be a charm.

Third-year head coach Onesta Francis thinks so. "This is our third year of existence and the first year that we have freshmen and sophomores that we recruited," said the coach. "It will be an exciting year where we expect to continue to build off of last year's progress."

The 2018 Tigers finished fifth in the then seven-team Central Valley Conference and were 5-11 overall. This year, the CVC is down to six teams with the loss of Cerro Coso College.

Reedley has added two new assistant coaches with tremendous experience. Claudia Diaz is currently the head coach at Dinuba High School. She also played at UC Merced. Francis says that Maria Magana is a local legend. "She played for Reedley High, UC Irvine and professionally in Iceland. So our coaching staff is looking great.

On the field, the Tiger roster features several returnees with high expectations. Leading the way is 2018 CVC Outstanding Player of the year in Reedley High grad Kalese "Kiki" Sunamoto. Also back is conference Goalkeeper of the Year Sarah Cabrera (Dos Palos) along with Jade Bulosan (Reedley High), a second-team all-CVC selection last year.

The roster includes several exciting freshmen. Sabrina Cabrera scored 50 goals for Dos Palos HS last year. Destiny Gonzalez scored 17 for Coalinga while Sumiko "Miko" Sunamoto (Reedley) had 11 goals and two assists.

The new season officially begins on Aug. 29 at Oxnard College. After an Aug. 23 scrimmage, the official home opener is Sept. 3 against Cabrillo. CVC action begins on Oct. 15 at Taft College.