By Stephanie Guevara
Two non-calls in key situations resulted in a lapse in the men’s soccer defense leading to a 3-3 draw against Chaffey College at home on Friday.
For the first Chaffey goal, East Los Angeles College was caught arguing with the referee on whether the play was offside or not, instead of stopping forward Johnathan Umana from scoring.
The Huskies have consistently lost or tied games in the same fashion, by getting distracted with non-called plays. Flores emphasized on how the Huskies make mistakes that cost them the game.
“We have bad habits. We don’t defend right and we take bad fouls toward the end of the game. There are some unnecessary things, like talking back to the referee,” ELAC head coach Eddie Flores said.
ELAC repeated the same mistake in the third Chaffey goal. In the 78th minute of the game, Chaffey scored on a counter attack where ELAC defenders were caught arguing with the referee again, claiming the opposing striker was offside.
The Huskies made substitutions in the first half and moved players around, which woke up the offense.
ELAC sophomore midfielder Ernesto Rubalcaba scored ELAC’s first goal from long distance. The shot bypassed Chaffey’s goalkeeper and went over his outstretched hands.
“It was a rough game. That first goal that they (ELAC) scored obviously gave them momentum. (We) got back up to score the third goal with 12 minutes left, but a guy got on the corner to tie the game and that was a good play,” Chaffey head coach Ben Cooper said.
Chaffey continued to take advantage of ELAC’s defensive mistakes and scored the second goal in the 15th minute on an error by Husky sophomore winger Ernesto Rubalcaba, which surprised goalkeeper Joshua Moreno.
The Huskies seemed frustrated and unfocused in the game, as players argued among each other.
ELAC freshman midfielder Rigoberto Padilla came in as a substitute and tied the game with a header, assisted by sophomore Martin Oregel in the 39th minute.
“I felt like the team fought together. We never stopped. I felt good at the moment (to score), and I can’t wait for more in this season,” Padilla said.
Padilla had another shot on goal in the 34 minute, but missed.
ELAC’s defense came out stronger in the second half. Husky goalkeeper Moreno and the teammates blocked two consecutive shots on goal from Chaffey in the 49th minute.
In the 71st minute of the game, ELAC had three consecutive shots on goal from Alvarado, midfielder Andres Martinez and Padilla.
“We have been the best on the field, but our results haven’t shown it. I thought we fought very good. We fought from the first minute to the 90th minute,” ELAC freshman winger Luis Alvarado said.
ELAC came back to tie the game in the 84th minute on a header by Husky freshman left back Sergio Chaidez on an assist from Padilla.
“I was coming in with the mentality to win. We had to win. I was a little nervous because it’s the first game I start. When I scored, sadly I cramped up, but the team was able to finish the game,” Chaidez said.
Chaidez had to leave the game after the equalizer because he pulled a muscle from a cramp.
ELAC ended in a controversial 2-2 draw yesterday on the road at Rio Hondo College. In the last minute of the game, Husky freshman William Alfaro delivered a shot on goal where a Rio Hondo defender blocked in the keeper’s area. ELAC once again came away with a play where the referee didn’t call a penalty for the play.
ELAC now stands at 2-9-7 with three games remaining in the season.
