Long Beach Flexes into First Place Following Physical Victory over ECC-Compton

The Long Beach City College men soccer team looked to ride the elevator in the South Coast Conference (SCC) standings on Tuesday evening by facing off against the El Camino Compton Center College Tartars on the road. The Vikings achieved their goal by defeating the Tartars by the final score of 3-2 and hopping into first place by two points in the standings.

Compton immediately felt the pressure of the Vikings in their defensive third with relentless effort from the Vikings' striking unit. In the 10th minute, freshman defender Christopher Ribet broke down the far touchline and lofted a pristine pass into the box just steps away from the end line to find the foot of sophomore midfielder Alfredo Garcia who promptly sent home the first score of the game.

After the Vikings surrendered an early equalizer in the first half to bring the score to one apiece entering into the final 45 minute of action, Long Beach responded via corner kick in the 61st minute. Garcia linked up with Ribet for a dual assist that was finished by sophomore defender Anthony Gonzalez via header to grab a 2-1 advantage.

The Vikings continued to play as a cohesive unit and netted yet another score after multiple combinations that ended with Garcia finding freshman forward Nicholas Vazquez open for the netter.

Despite Compton trimming their deficit to one goal after a converted penalty kick, the Vikings held on for a much-needed, 3-2 victory.

Freshman goalkeeper Saul Ocampo earned the victory after hauling in five saves in 90 minutes of action between the pipes.

Long Beach (6-8-6, 5-2-1 SCC) has a chance to haul in its second-consecutive SCC crown if Cerritos loses or ties their contest. Cerritos faces off against El Camino on Friday, November 11. The Vikings will play Pasadena in non-conference action at home on Thursday, November 10 at 3 p.m.