The Long Beach City College men's soccer team hit the road last Friday in California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) action to face off against Rio Hondo. Despite knocking on the door with three blasts off the crossbar, the Vikings settled for a scoreless tie against second-place Rio Hondo.
Alejandro Martin, who filled in at center back, had a very strong game by keeping the Rio Hondo offense from getting on the board. Irving Alvarado, Anthony Gonzales, and Victor Naves all played the full 90 minutes on the back line to help negate the opponents from reaching the back of the net. Saul Ocampo made six save in the contest to record the shutout.
During the first half, Rio Hondo had the better of the scoring opportunities just missing the target on a few opportunities, forcing Ocampo to make two saves on well-placed shots. Long Beach was only able to create two true scoring opportunity when Edgar Gonzales shot sailed just wide of the target and Gabriel Covarrubias came up just short on a crossing ball from Nick Vasquez.
Long Beach came out in the second half and started to apply immediate pressure on the Roadrunners' back line. The Vikings were able to open up the field more and create more opportunities on goal. The Vikings came close to scoring, as Gonzalez, Carlos Maldonado, and Hector Solis all hit the crossbar, but none of them found the inside of the net. Long Beach outshot Rio Hondo for the contest 10-8.
The Vikings (3-6-6, 2-1-1 SCC) will be at home to face off against SCC North leader Mt. San Antonio who is ranked second in the nation. The game is slated for Tuesday, October 25 at 4 p.m.