Matadors women’s soccer looks for national championship after back-to-back heartbreaks
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) - The bar remains high for Arizona Western College women’s soccer.
After reaching the NJCAA National Championship match in each of the last two seasons and making three consecutive national title game appearances, the Matadors enter the 2026 campaign with the same ultimate goal: bringing home the program’s first national championship trophy.
Despite the lofty expectations, head coach Victor Verdugo is focused on the process rather than looking too far ahead.
“I’m taking it as a marathon this year,” Verdugo said. "We want to take it one game at a time, one week at a time. First objective is to win the conference.”
Arizona Western has dominated the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference in recent years, not suffering a regular-season conference loss since 2022. However, team captain and El Centro native Ari Peraza believes the conference race will be as competitive as ever.
“In our conference, there are some really tough teams that have been recruiting, just like how we have, so it should be exciting to watch the schedule,” Peraza said.
The Matadors once again enter the season among the nation’s elite, earning a No. 2 national ranking. With that ranking comes pressure, but captain defender Jay Miller said the team views success as an expectation rather than a burden.
“Having a good mindset, and just having a killer mindset of we are going to win and we have to win,” Miller said. “Like we always say, it’s not pressure. It’s an expectation. It’s a standard. It’s not like it’s a big deal, but to us, it’s just [something we have to do].”
Arizona Western faces a new challenge this season after graduating several key contributors from last year’s squad. To fill those vacancies, the Matadors brought in a talented freshman class that Verdugo believes can make an immediate impact.
“We have some special freshmen that have come in,” Verdugo said. “A couple with national team experience. We have Ana Sofia Clavijo, who was the captain last year for Colombia at the U17 World Cup. We have Riko Horie, who comes from being a two-time national champion in Japan high school. Excited about her. We also have Maika Sato, who was part of the All-Tokyo City Team.”
Clavijo, Horie and Sato are among 16 freshmen on this year’s roster. Their development will play a major role in determining whether Arizona Western can continue its recent success and take the next step on the national stage.
The newcomers have already made a positive impression on returning players.
“Everyone new coming in has a ton of energy,” Miller said.
That energy has helped fuel a strong start to the season, with the Matadors remaining undefeated early in the campaign. Whether Arizona Western can turn that momentum into a national championship remains to be seen, but the program’s expectations have not changed.
For a team that has come within reach of the title in each of the past two seasons, the pursuit of a championship continues.
