Men's Soccer: Late goals lead to 4-2 LBCC loss to No. 11 Taft
The Long Beach City College men's soccer team rallied late, but allowed a pair of goals in extra time and lost to No. 11 nationally-ranked Taft College by a final score of 4-2.
The loss dropped Long Beach to 3-4 overall while Taft, also ranked sixth in the state, improved its unbeaten record to 5-0-2.
Trailing 2-0 at halftime, the Vikings came out with a higher level of intensity and controlled the tempo of the second half.
LBCC slowly chipped away at the Taft lead and finally got on the scoreboard in the 53rd minute. After a free kick just outside the Taft penalty box, sophomore Andre Martinez sent a cross pass to freshman Francisco Magallon that he headed in past Taft goalkeeper Roberto Gonzalez for the score.
The Vikings got the equalizer in the 82nd minute thanks to some impressive efforts from freshmen Jose Barajas (pictured) and Anthony Dheming. The duo combined on a series of passes down the right sideline before Barajas sent a long pass in front of the box. Sophomore Kevin Jimenez redirected the pass to the back of the net to tie the score at 2.
Long Beach appeared to continue to play for the win, but a couple of defensive lapses led to a pair of Taft goals in added time. Gerardo Gonzalez beat LBCC sophomore goalkeeper Jorge Beccera after he misplayed a long pass for the go-ahead goal.
And just moments before the final whistle, Jose Gonzalez scored on a breakaway pass from Gerardo Gonzalez. Ramiro Barazza had two first-half goals to give Taft a 2-0 lead at the break.
The Long Beach men return to action on Tuesday (Sep 25) at 4 pm when they host East Los Angeles College in their South Coast Conference opener.
Photo by Chris Ruiz