By Miguel Dominguez
The East Los Angeles College soccer team settled for a draw against Norco College 1-1.
The Huskies have 2 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses on the season. The Huskies struggled against Norco offense early in the half.
The majority of the first half, Norco attacked the Huskies through crosses and long balls.
Norco outran the Huskies defense and scored the first goal early in the first 10 minutes of the game.
The goal would be overturned by the assistant referee for an offside call.
Later in the half, Norco’s forward Manuel Talavera tried to chip the keeper but went over the bar.
The Husky goalkeeper Milton Salazar got his first save about 13 minutes into the game.
Salazar challenged Norco’s forward one-on-one as the shot went straight to the keeper.
Salazar was able to deflect the shot out of bounds for Norco’s corner. The game was still leveled 0-0.
Later, Norco’s defender Eddie Hollins was all alone for a chance at goal from a corner kick. Hollins headed the ball over the bar. Forward Dominic Kienzle gave Norco the lead 15 minutes into the game.
Kienzle shot inside the box, through the defense and over the Keeper’s head, Norco led 1-0.
The Huskies tried to answer back seconds after conceding the goal when defender, Cristobal De La Fuente got inside the box. His shot was wide off the far post. The Huskies trailed 1-0.
Norco had a chance to add to their lead when Talavera shot at goal and was denied by Salazar.
Talavera had his teammate, Kienzle, wide open on his right but chose to do it himself. This could have extended their lead to 2-0. Huskies still trailed by one.
Bad communication from the Huskies almost gave Norco another chance at a goal. Luckily the defense recovered from their mistake when defender Joaquin Toledo shielded off Norco’s forward on a loose ball inside the Huskies’ box.
Salazar forced himself around both players and secured the ball into his hands.
Husky Midfielder, Alirio Alvarado tied the game after the Norco goalkeeper, Martin Fiala, deflected the first shot.
Alvarado shot the ball underneath the diving keeper for a goal. The score was leveled 1-1 with 10 minutes to go in the half.
In the first half, Norco had more chances at scoring and the Huskies struggled to maintain possession of the ball.
Norco seemed exhausted after scoring the first goal, which led to only a couple of chances at goal.
The Huskies struggled in their passes while they tried to score off counter attacks. Their passes were not as precise as Norco’s offense when they would counterattack.
Early in the second half, Norco wanted a penalty call, but the referee signaled that the ELAC defender made a clean tackle.
Things got heated a few minutes later when one Norco’s player went to the ground. One of the players gestured to the referee that his teammate got hit with an elbow from the Husky player. There was shoving between some players, but no red card was given.
Later in the half, Husky forward Jahvon Brown nearly scored but the keeper blocked the shot. The Husky bench got up from the bench and cheered on the team for motivation.
The Huskies did score later in the half, but the referee overturned the call for an offside. The game was still level 25 minutes into the half. Both teams had very little opportunities at goal after the last attempt by the Huskies. The game ended 1-1.
The Huskies will go on to play Cypress College on Friday. The Huskies will play at home, the game starts at 6 p.m.