The City College men’s soccer team outlasted the visiting Santa Monica Corsairs 2-1 in a grueling match Tuesday night at La Playa stadium.
It was an extremely physical match from the opening whistle as both teams took the field with an aggressive mindset. Players were constantly bumping and colliding with each other well after the ball had left their side of the field.
Santa Monica struck first in the 30th minute when Danny Hernandez, a freshman midfielder for the Corsairs rocketed a ball into the bottom left corner off the net. The shot ricocheted off of diving City College goalkeeper Shane Pitcock and the Vaqueros found themselves down 1-0.
City College quickly evened things up a few minutes later when Callum Challinor blazed past his defender down the sideline and placed a perfect ball just inside the penalty box for Carlos Espinoza who crushed it past the Santa Monica keeper Idaul Ezquivel.
The already physical match escalated in the 38th minute after a hard slide tackle from Vaquero midfielder Gabriel Oakley on Corsair midfielder Joob Sanchez. Sanchez retaliated by shoving Oakley and players from both sides rushed to break up the scrum that ensued, Oakley and Sanchez were both awarded yellow cards.
“It happens in a competitive game,” said John Sisterson, City College head coach. “You’ve just got to match the physical nature of the game.”
Espinoza was able to capitalize on an empty net opportunity in the closing minutes of the first half when the ball was deflected to him by the Santa Monica keeper after he knocked down a long pass from City College defender Matthew Wilkinson.
The goal was Espinoza’s second of the match and his third overall on the season.
“We just have to keep winning,” said Espinoza. “As long as we get the victory that’s all that matters.”
The Vaqueros almost extended their lead multiple times in the second half but were unsuccessful.
In the 59th minute defender Casey Everett chipped a ball to Challinor who delivered a header that sailed just above the top crossbar and defender Jose Abitia ripped a shot in the 77th minute that narrowly missed the top of the goal.
Shane Pitcock was locked in after giving up the initial goal of the game as he stopped multiple shots in the second half, including a stellar diving save to keep the Vaqueros ahead in the 69th minute.
“If you dwell on it too much it’s gonna affect the rest of your game,” said Pitcock. “You just put it in your mind and think about it after the game and move on.”
The Vaqueros will travel to Allan Hancock for a 4 P.M. Friday afternoon match before returning home the following Tuesday to face Oxnard college at 7:30 P.M..
