Men's Soccer: Vikings upset No. 5 Taft on the road to open season

The LBCC men's soccer team opened up its 2013 season with the first of hopefully many huge wins as the Vikings went on the road to knock off No. 5 nationally-ranked Taft College 2-1 on a blistering 100-degree Friday in the Central Valley.

Men's Soccer: Vikings upset No. 5 Taft on the road to open season
August 30, 2013
The Long Beach City College men's soccer team opened up its 2013 season with the first of hopefully many huge wins as the Vikings went on the road to knock off No. 5 nationally-ranked Taft College 2-1 on a blistering 100-degree Friday in the Central Valley.

The Vikings dominated the contest and outshot Taft by a 14-4 margin, but couldn't find the back of the net in the first half. The Cougars got on the scoreboard first with a goal in the 22nd minute and led 1-0 at halftime.

In the second, Long Beach turned up the pressure and had an excellent scoring chance turned away when sophomore Robert Burgos (Millikan HS, pictured) had his header shot cleared off the goal line by a Taft defender. 

But LBCC finally got on the board in the 62nd minute. Freshman Erik Carbajal (Lakewood HS) ripped a free shot from 35 yards out that was deflected by the Taft goalkeeper. Freshman Jesse Hernandez (Belflower HS) put back the rebound to tie the game 1-1.

And just five minutes later, the Vikings score the go-ahead goal. In minute 67, Jose Garcia (Artesia HS) fed Joel Altilano (Artesia HS) on a set play. Altilano nailed his shot from 25 yards deep for the eventual game-winning goal.

Sophomore Luis Anguiano (Bellflower HS) had three saves in goal for the Vikings in the victory. Freshman Michael Pedraza (Las Vegas, NV) stabilized the defense while playing the full 90 minutes in the excessive heat.

Long Beach, now 1-0, returns to action on Friday (Sep 6) when the Vikings host Allan Hancock College in their home opener at 4 pm. 

Photo by Chris Ruiz