BY Stephanie Guevara
Two defensive mistakes cost men’s soccer to lost 2-1 against Mount San Antonio College and end their undefeated record yesterday at Weingart Stadium.
East Los Angeles College came from a strong defensive first half, but in minute 47 sophomore fullback Jorge Mejia committed a foul in the keeper’s area that awarded Mt.SAC a penalty kick.
Husky goalkeeper Joshua Moreno nearly blocked Mt.SAC forward Sam Ponting’s penalty kick.
“I thought the PK (penalty kick) was a lazy part on the defender.
We had two defensive mistakes and we paid the price,” head coach Eddie Flores said.
The beginning of the second half reflected a different Husky team than the one of first half.
In minute 58 of the game, ELAC defender Edwin Vazquez committed a defensive error that Mt.SAC forward Andres Gamboa took advantage of and scored on a one-on-one encounter with Moreno.
“We had a lack of communication and we weren’t there mentally. Communication is always the key to success.
“Things happen out of nowhere and they can throw you off,” Moreno said.
In minute 33 Mt.Sac had three consecutive shots on goal, but ELAC’s defense blocked them all.
Although the Huskies came out weak in the first minutes of the second half, the offense awoke in the last minutes of the game.
“It was a very hard fought game on both sides.
“We knew they (ELAC) were undefeated and we knew they had great talent.
Our mindset was to come in here and focus on what we can control.
They (ELAC) have more leaders than what they had last season and they are a good side,” Mt.SAC Head Coach Juan Sanchez said.
In minute 80, Husky sophomore forward Edward Robles scored a free-kick goal that boosted ELAC’s morale, but left them wanting more in the end.
“In the whole game I wanted to score. It was good that we scored. Unfortunately we couldn’t get more. It feels nice (to score), but it wasn’t enough,” Robles said.
ELAC had a total of 6 shots on goal in the last ten minutes of the game.
According to Assistant Coach Ricardo Raygoza, the Huskies lost the sense of winning the game.
“I think the main thing here is that our sense of urgency wasn’t there. Bottom line, if you want something, you have to go for it. We didn’t do that,” Raygoza said.
ELAC had a couple of alarming moments in the second half.
Moreno and sophomore midfielder Martinez collided with each other in the goalkeeper’s area to stop Mt. SAC from scoring a third goal, but they didn’t suffer any injuries.
The Huskies said they took the loss as motivation to regain their winning desire.
“It’s not good that we had this loss, but it helps us to wake up so we can pick it up for the rest of the season,” Robles said.
“We were coming in super confident, which feels good, but at the same time we can’t get so high up in our head.
We just have to stay humble,” Moreno said.
The Husky’s next game is at home against Rio Hondo College on Friday at 2 p.m.