Long Beach City College sophomore Hayley Gonzales's (Calvary Chapel HS) goal in the 56th minute was all the offense the Vikings needed to pull out a 1-0 South Coast Conference win over visiting El Camino College on Monday at LBCC.
With the win, Long Beach improved to 9-6-3 overall and 8-4-0 in conference play with just two games left in the regular season. The Vikings close out SCC play on Tuesday (Nov. 11) at Mt. San Antonio College at 3 p.m. and are at Pasadena City College on Friday (Nov. 14) at 6 p.m.
After a scoreless first half, the Vikings turned up the pressure in the second. Long Beach nearly scored in the 49th minute when Gonzales' cross pass skipped by El Camino goalie Melissa Paramo but ECC defender Rylie Cole was able to clear the ball off the goal line to save a potential goal.
Leading 1-0, freshman Joanna Perone (San Pedro HS) almost extended the Vikings' lead but her close-range shot nailed the right post.
Long Beach outshot El Camino by an 11-7 margin. Freshmen Evelyn Fierros (Bishop Amat HS) and Isabella Reynoso (Lakewood HS) combined for their seventh shutout of the season as Fierros made the duo's lone save in the first half. Sophomore Yasmyn Andrade was credited with the assist on the Vikings' goal.
Paramo posted six saves in the loss for El Camino (3-16-0, 2-10-0 SCC).