Despite massive pressure early on, the American River College Beavers faced off against the Diablo Valley College Vikings  and sent them home packing.

The game was an intense competition from the kickoff, but the lady Beavers strong teamwork and defense led to a 4-0 victory, their first shutout in five games.

"It was a good win — the girls did a good job," said ARC Head Coach Paul Arellanes.

The Vikings Jenna Quinonez hustled on defense, breaking up every play made by the Beavers.

Great spacing and ball movement on the field kept the Vikings defense off balance. ARC's Laura Ramirez drew first blood, scoring the first point.

But the Vikings wouldn't go away. Bethany Garchor, the Vikings midfielder, made great slide tackles to hold the Beavers up temporarily.

Forward Rachel Mathews scored the second point for the Beavers with a power kick just inside the penalty box area.  By the end of the first half, lightning in the distant

sky threatened to end the game.  The ARC fans opposed canceling the game;  the Beavers had a 2-0 lead.  ARC fans had words for the referees.  The clouds pushed west and the game continued. 

The Vikings head Coach Cailin Mullins must have given her girls a good pep talk, because in the second half the lady Vikings ran out more aggressive on defense.

The Vikings Leslie Lambeth and Hayley Gustafson were helpless on offense facing the Beavers back field made up of Tiffany (Mouse) Prunty, Mikiala Puaa- Freitas, Hillaree Guay, Jessica Reed, and Angie Leporini better known as the back field Gate Keepers. 

The Vikings didn't have a key to reach ARC's goalkeeper Leah Thomas. By the second half, Thomas could have pulled out a beach chair and an iPod. The Vikings couldn't get the ball across the midpoint for 13 minutes.

The Beavers communications on the field was excellent.  Fans could hear ARC's Abby Walker and Jen Munro shouting out plays from the stands.  Munro scored ARC's third

point spitting the defense kicking the ball into the net.

Rachel Mathews let the Vikings goalkeeper Almo O'Campo know she's not the boss of her, scoring her second point of the game, making the score 4-0.

The Beavers didn't take their lead for granted; Femke Akkercijk challenged the Vikings goalkeeper O'Campo to a loose ball, knocking O'Campo clean off her feet. Akkerctijk received a yellow warning card.  It was a great hustle on her team's behalf.

After the game, Coach Mullins said she knew what kind of opponent her team was facing.

"Most of our girls never gave up. American River is a tough team to beat," Mullins said. "We started out with hard pressure.  The Beavers got a couple set pieces for points.  But overall, I was proud of the way our team played." 

As of presstime, the team's overall record is 8-4-2, with a 3-1-1- conference record. The Beavers next home game is Friday, 3 p.m. against Cosumnes River College.