By Liliana Marquez
The men’s soccer team achieved their third consecutive victory in conference after defeating El Camino College last Friday at Weingart Stadium 3-0.
The Huskies also defeated Compton College as visitors last week with goals by Kevin Gomez, Galo Moreno, Giovanni Reyes, and Adolfo Larios. The first half against El Camino was difficult for the Huskies. ELAC had a lot of chances to score early, but the team had trouble. Losing control of the ball too quickly, and not being able to conclude their moves, was something that prevented the Huskies from scoring more goals.
The game kicked off with the Warriors having the first goal opportunity during minute three. During minute five, ELAC’s defense was tested once again by the Warriors with a powerful shot that the Huskies were able to reject with a header by one of their defenders. By minute eight, the Huskies were playing fast and loose with the ball, and the Warriors tried to take advantage of that. The first clear chance of scoring for the Huskies came in minute 11. A shot on target by Kevin Gomez forced the Warriors’ goalkeeper to step in and prevent the Huskies from opening the scoring.
Two minutes later, ELAC attacked again with a strong shot on target by Cesar Benitez that the goalkeeper caught without difficulty. This was followed by a counterattack by the Huskies, where Galo Moreno gave a pass to Kevin Gomez who was not able to finish the move.
At minute 16, ELAC counterattacked the Warriors and Gomez had another chance to score but his shot was blocked by one of the Warriors. During minute 19, a pass from Guannan Wang to Omar Garcia gave another chance to the Huskies but the shot went off the field, giving them a throw-in by Moreno.
About a minute later, Garcia missed a chance to open the score with another shot on target. At minute 25, Danny Suarez gave a pass to Salvador Medrano who had a chance to score, but his shot went over the crossbar. Two minutes later, ELAC generated another goal opportunity with Suarez sending a pass to Moreno who gave the ball away.
On minute 32, El Camino was awarded a corner kick but ELAC’s defense was ready to send the ball away from the net. The Warriors had a chance to score on minute 33, with a corner kick, but they were not able to conclude the move. Two minutes before halftime, Suarez had another chance to score, but his shot passed to the side of the post without causing trouble to the Warriors’ goalkeeper.
ELAC’s first goal came on minute 44, when in a counterattack move Aldolfo Larios sent a pass to Javier Campos. Campos touched the ball and passed four Warriors to score from a difficult angle. This gave the Huskies the advantage and the lead at the interval 1-0. During the second half ELAC’s performance improved a lot. At minute 47, Suarez had a goal opportunity but the goalkeeper was able to stop his shot. Two minutes later, Jimmy Espinal took a shot that was intended to go for Garcia but he was not able to reach the ball, losing another chance to score for the Huskies.
The Warriors had an opportunity to tie the score at the 50 minute mark, but the Huskies were there to prevent the goal. On minute 52, Suarez had yet another shot on target. This was followed by a throw-in by Moreno, were ELAC almost scored their second goal. During minute 58, ELAC’s Head Coach made a very important change. Omar Garcia left the field, and Kevin Gomez came back in.
The following minute, Espinal gave a pass to Suarez who was going for the goal, the Warriors’ defense was left behind.
Suarez was about to take the shot, but decided to give a pass to Gomez who was at his left. Gomez was able to take the shot, leaving the goalkeeper behind and scoring ELAC’s second goal.
At minute 61, the Warriors stole a ball coming from a throw-in by ELAC’s Yuchen Wang and generated a great counterattack move, but ELAC’s goalkeeper Juan Escobar was there to catch the ball. El Camino had yet another chance to score during minute 65, when they were awarded a free kick. Goalkeeper Escobar was able to reject the shot, but the ball landed in the way of another Warrior, who took a shot and sent the ball off the field. At minute 71, the Warriors attempted to score but the ball went over the crossbar, sending it to a goal kick.
Two minutes later, Suarez generated a move by sending a pass to Garcia who took the shot but the Warrior’s goalkeeper caught the ball. El Camino’s most clear goal attempt came ten minutes before the final whistle, where ELAC’s goalkeeper Escobar sent the shot to a corner kick.
Two minutes before the end, the Huskies had their final chance to score and did not waste it. Escobar’s goal kick lead to Giovanni Reyes scoring the third and final goal for the Huskies. The Warriors left defeated for the third time in conference. Minutes after the final whistle, the Huskies shared their thoughts on the game.
ELAC’s goalkeeper Juan Escobar said, “It feels good to achieve this third consecutive victory in conference. It gives us a chance to breath. We need to be focused and do our best.” Teammate and goal scorer Giovanni Reyes said, “We did a good job, we made a couple of mistakes. This third consecutive victory makes me feel great. It keeps our momentum going.”
Javier Campos, who scored the first goal for the Huskies, said, “I am very proud because the team worked hard. We need to take advantage of every given opportunity because those kind of chances are not easy to come back.” Husky Assistant Coach Felipe Bernal said, “Our confidence grew back with this result. We have very important games ahead and we need to practice shooting. This is a challenge for us, but we have to make that jump. We can do it.”
Javier Aguiniga, also assistant coach, said that they are still a work in progress and that the team is growing and getting better as they prepare to face their next games.
