The Long Beach City College men's soccer team earned a 2-2 draw in the Vikings' 2011 home opener on Tuesday. The non-conference tie moved LBCC's record to 1-1-1 overall this season while Irvine Valley is now 2-2-1.
Irvine Valley jumped out ahead early. On an IVC corner kick, Lasers' forward Brandon Mulhall sent a pass back to midfielder Juan Martinez. Martinez then nailed a shot past LBCC freshman goalkeeper Jesus Gutierrez for the 1-0 advantage in the seventh minute.
But Long Beach rallied back late in the first half with a pair of goals.
In the 30th minute, LBCC freshman forward Andres Montes sent a cross pass from the right side towards the front of the net. The pass was destined for freshman forward Tim Harty in the middle, but Harty allowed the ball to continue through to the left side to sophomore forward Jessie Aguirre. Aguirre one-timed a shot by Irvine Valley goalie Diego Chacon to tie the game at one.
Just two minutes later, the Vikings took the lead. Montes earned his second assist on another cross pass to Harty. This time, Harty finished the opportunity and Long Beach held a 2-1 advantage.
The second half saw both defenses tighten up, but IVC finally put in the equalizer in the 70th minute. Midfielder Josip Elez powered his way through three LBCC defenders before bouncing his shot in off the right post to close out the scoring.
Gutierrez posted five saves in goal for the Vikings.
Long Beach returns to action on Friday (Sept 9) at 5 pm when it hosts San Diego City College in a non-conference game.