Duran Ventura: Hello, everybody. Welcome to the Talon Marks Sports Podcast. I’m your host, Duran Ventura and today, we’re going to recap the ELAC versus Falcons game last Friday.
But we have a special guest with us. She is the midfielder slash defender for the women’s soccer team. Ladies and gentlemen, Jenna Santos.
Jenna Santos: Hi everybody
Duran Ventura: How you doing, Jenna?
Jenna Santos: I’m good. How are you?
Duran Ventura: Doing good, just surviving. It was a very feisty game last Friday against ELAC, wasn’t it?
Jenna Santos: It was, it was very competitive.
Duran Ventura: Tell us, take us through the game. You guys started off really well in the first half. You guys attacked nonstop, wave after wave. And Jessica Arroyo scored the opening goal.
Jenna Santos: Yeah, I was a banger.
Duran Ventura: What was going through your mind in the first half as you guys continue to dominate wave after wave?
Jenna Santos: Just practicing everything that we’ve been doing, we want to get some points and just trying to get everything behind the net, everything that we’ve been working for and I feel like it’s showing, so it’s very rewarding for us, but we just have to continue that.
Duran Ventura: Kind of noticed them in the game when you were being in defender position, you made some great runs. You went through the midfield all the way on the attack. What goes to your mind when you when you make those great runs? Do you like decide? Should I pass or should I just keep going?
Jenna Santos: Honestly, I just look at what I have. If I have the opportunity to shoot it, I shoot it. If I have my other teammates having a better option and position than I do, then I execute it.
Duran Ventura: You think it’s a big risk when you do that, because that means when you lose the ball or pass it, you’ve got to run straight back to the defense.
Jenna Santos: Being a defender comes with pros and cons at the end of the day. Um, it’s not something that I’m not used to, so I just gotta do what I have to do.
Duran Ventura: You guys were up going into the second half, but what happened in the second half? I kind of noticed ELAC. They started coming wave after wave and then you guys tried to counter attack you the same way. But what was going through? What was going through the game plan?
Jenna Santos: So ELAC plays very defensive, I would say. They had a lot more defenders. And then towards second half, they ended up putting a lot more people in the attack. And it put us defenders in a very rough situation, mainly because they would just launch the ball. So it was really hard for us to defend that, because we’re not typically used to that. Not a lot of teams play kickball. We just had to try to figure it out. And it was very rough for us.
Duran Ventura: You think they got you with the long ball?
Jenna Santos: Um I for sure think that it messed with our game a little bit, only because um we’re not typically used to that. We’re a very possession-based team. We don’t usually play kickball teams. They usually try to play out of the back, passing and moving. So it’s very hard when we play teams that do play kickball because we’re not used to the adjust of that.
Duran Ventura: In the second half, ELAC scored late to make it 1-1. And after that, you guys started chasing the game. What was going through your mind that it was one-one? Do you think it was like a fear, like the nightmare became reality?
Jenna Santos: Um, I’m not really sure it was going through my mind, um, we just had to, you know, try at least get one more behind the net. That’s just what was going through our minds, Yvette actually put me on top to try to get more of a counter. Um, at the end of the day, we just have to try to get one behind the net again.
Duran Ventura: Speaking of your coach, um Yvette Vascones , um when you guys need a goal or when you guys are down or tied, she mostly uses you up front to create more offense, right?
Jenna Santos:Mm-hmm.
Duran Ventura: How does that feel like for you like you consider like you’re in the ear to defense, but okay, you got to move up to midfield or a forward position.
Jenna Santos: Um I’m okay with it, I love being an attack, I love getting chances for my team, I love executing moments for them. um I just play, at the end of the day my dad taught me how to be a very versatile player and I feel like that’s what I am.
Duran Ventura: Um this game is sort of ended a 1-1 for you guys and it ended the five game road trip But how did it feel you guys were on this five game road trip like almost a month?
Jenna Santos: I’m not a big fan of road trips, but it does play a big role for us because we’re in a bus for a very long time, half of the time, and our bodies are just, you know, not being able to warm up at times because we arrive a little bit late because of traffic. So we’re very happy to be home this Tuesday versus El Camino because we’re going to have our proper warm-up, we’re going to be at our home, we’re going to have our supporters. So we’re very excited that that, what is it, our away games are kind of out of the books right now for one game.
Duran Ventura: Yeah, you guys are going to be back on October 21st. You guys are going to be facing the El Camino Warriors. Everybody at school, we’ve got to support them. Umyou’re facing the Warriors, and they only have two wins this year, but you guys have only three. I think it’s like a lot of pressure on you guys to face a team that’s like the same level as you guys in the record books.
Jenna Santos: Um, I wouldn’t say pressure. I feel like we’re both very good teams. Um, and we just have, we just have to fight at the end of the day. When I mean fights, like we have to give it our all, um, be a team together, play the ball together, to bend together, celebrate together, everything at the end of the day is we’re a team and we need to just do it all together. And I feel like if we’re a team that does it all together, we execute and we produce and we win.
Duran Ventura: I kind of noticed after the Warriors this Tuesday, you guys are now going to go to Long Beach City to face the bitter rivals, the Vikings, on October 24th. How’s it feel? It’s going to be a rivalry game.
Jenna Santos: And I’m always down for a rivalry game. We’re all excited. We’re working really hard this week, like we’ve been. We want to make it the biggest upset. And if we continue to work hard together as a team, it’s going to happen.
Duran Ventura: Well, I hope you guys do really well, and please beat the Vikings, you know?
Jenna Santos: That’s the goal at the end of the day, that’s what we want.
Duran Ventura: I want to go back to the beginning of last year. You and me, we sort of like talked, and you said that you were not coming back to Cerritos, but then you sort of surprised me that, oh, I am staying. How does it feel that you’re back here at Cerritos?
Jenna Santos: These girls are my family, um I take a lot of pride with this, soccer is my life, I work hard for it, I have a lot going for myself for soccer, and I also really love Yvette, she plays a big role for me, so I’m very happy that I decided to stay because Yvette and the girls played a big role in me staying.
Duran Ventura: How did it feel that you’re now a captain this year?
Jenna Santos: Um it’s great. I feel like I’m held to a higher standard and that’s what I love at the end of the day. I have to help the girls, help the coach, be a leader. It’s just something that comes naturally with me and I’m very glad that the girls picked me to be their captain because I do work hard and I do everything. But I mean everything. I feel like I bust my butt off. I make sure everything’s on top. I don’t know. It’s honoring because I work hard. I feel like it’s well deserved and I defend this team like they’re my family at the end of the day. I’m glad that they picked me to be their captain because that’s what I want for my team to see. I do all those things for them.
Duran Ventura: You’re like you’re holding a big responsibility for the team. It’s not just you, you also have two other captains with you.
Jenna Santos: I did they’re very great captains with me, Maya and Ari.
Duran Ventura: Every time when I watch you play and I write about you, I always think of Andrea Pirlo the great midfielder for Juventus and AC Milan, I always think that you’re the architect. But which player do you watch, a professional player, that you sort of get some tips up or watch the most?
Jenna Santos: Um, I watch the most is Marcelo because he’s an outside back and he’s a G. He’s really good.
Duran Ventura: Um, this will be like, this is your sophomore season. Um, will there be a, where will you be transferring to?
Jenna Santos: I’ll be transferring to Cal Poly Pomona after this fall semester.
Duran Ventura: Are you ready to do the transition from community college soccer to a Cal State College level?
Jenna Santos: I am very much so ready. um this is has been my biggest goal since I was in high school. And so I’m very ready for my next adventure.
Duran Ventura: I ‘m wondering if the people would like to know what is your major.
Jenna Santos: I am a kinesiology major.
Duran Ventura: What is that?
Jenna Santos: Kinesiology is like sports movement, so I want to eventually enter in the physical therapy world.
Duran Ventura: You as an athlete, people always forget that you are a student. Do you think it’s hard to balance out the college, the athletic life and the student life?
Jenna Santos:Yes, it is very challenging to balance that because you have less time to study for a very hard major. You also have to go double days, which I mean double days, you have weight room and soccer. So it takes a lot of your time and you just have to learn how to manage it and that’s the biggest thing is managing.
Duran Ventura: Do you think that with these classes they’re mostly online or in person?
Jenna Santos: Um it’s a balance of both, so that’s the biggest thing as well, so it’s very hard to balance everything and get it all done.
Duran Ventura: Um, what is your downtime? Like of course you can’t be like 24 or soccer. Like what do you do? Like just relax, like to just get away from the game, get away. Just ease your mind, calm yourself.
Jenna Santos: Um i usually go hang out with my friends but i also have work so i don’t really have rest time.
Duran Ventura: So you’re a soccer player who’s also a major in kinesiology, and you also work. What it like being like doing that, like working and then coming to school?
Jenna Santos: It’s very hard. I’m drained all the time, but my parents always say work now while you’re young So then at the end of the day when you’re older you have free time.
Duran Ventura: OK, well, we’re almost going to wrap it up here. But I want to ask one question for you. Do you plan to go pro one day?
Jenna Santos:Um, it’s obvious something in the back of my head, um, if it happens, it happens and I’d be very grateful for it, um, and happy because it’s been a dream since I was a little girl, um, so eventually one day if it happens, then it’ll be the biggest blessing.
Duran Ventura: El Salvador right.
Jenna Santos: Yes
Duran Ventura: Please be qualified. All right, folks, that’s about wraps it up. Jenna Santos, you’ve been great, as always.
Jenna Santos: Thank you.
Duran Ventura: And I’m your host, Duran Ventura, and please subscribe to the Talon Marks Sports Podcast and all our media. Thanks for stopping by.
