Viking Men's Soccer Works Towards 1-1 Draw with East L.A

The Long Beach City College men's soccer team squared off against the East Los Angeles City College Huskies on its home pitch on Tuesday evening in non-conference action. After trailing 0-1 entering into the second half, the Vikings worked to tie the game up at 1-1 leading to their second-consecutive tie. 

The first half of the contest fully belonged to East L.A. as they led in every category of the game including scoring by netting a goal in the 41st minute of action to put the Vikings in chase mode.

The second half of the game was a different story with the Vikings nearly doubling their total shots and beginning to press in their attacking third. 

The Vikings strung together their best offensive chances in the 70th minute and beyond, as freshman forward Christopher Ribet fired off three attempts within five minutes of one another. His third shot in the sequence finally trickled between the posts via header after a second-chance opportunity following his initial missed header seconds prior, thus tying the game at one apiece. 

Just minutes after the Vikings tied the game, the Huskies remained relentless on the offensive end by firing off two shots. Freshman goalkeeper Saul Ocampo made two incredible, highlight-reel saves back-to-back to preserve the lead. The first and most impressive save featured a shot that was struck from the far post with power, but Ocampo left his feet and found himself horizontal with the pitch to preserve the game. 

From then on, the game began to pick up steam, but neither team was able to make the push for the win with the game ending in a 1-1 tie. 

Ocampo was a vacuum cleaner between the posts by hauling in a season-high 12 saves. Ribet lead the way on offense with the netter and three total attempts. 

Freshman forward Carlos Maldonado tried his foot four times with three of his shots coming on target, while sophomore forward Edgar Gonzalez uncorked a pair of chances. 

The Vikings (3-6-5, 2-1-1 SCC) will hit the road to face off against Rio Hondo on Friday, October 21 at 4 p.m.