Long Beach Men's Soccer Edged by Orange Coast in Offensive Showdown

The Long Beach City College men's soccer team continued action on the road Tuesday night by taking on Orange Coast under the lights. Despite firing home a season-high three goals, the Vikings fell to Orange Coast by the final score of 3-5. 

After allowing an Orange Coast score in the 23rd minute, Long Beach promptly responded three minutes later with freshman forward Carlos Maldonado (Downey, CA) sending in the first score of the season to tie the game at one apiece. 

The back-and-forth score continued just one minute later after Orange Coast took the lead back in the 27th minute. Nevertheless, sophomore midfielder Jamie Salazar (Long Beach, CA) tied up the contest in the 33rd minute with a netter of his own, bringing a 2-2 tie into the second half. 

Unfortunately for the Vikings, a trio of goals scored by Orange Coast put Long Beach in a deep rut. A late-game score from freshman forward Hector Solis (Long Beach, CA) was not enough en route to a 3-5 defeat. 

Freshman goalkeeper Saul Ocampo (Hawaiian Gardens, CA) picked up the loss after hauling in five saves through 90 minutes of work between the posts.

Long Beach held the edge on the offensive attack by uncorking 15 shots to Orange Coast's 14. Additionally, the game deemed physical as there was a total of eight yellow cards. 

The Vikings (0-3-1) will continue their season on the road by facing off against Cuyamaca on Friday, September 9 at 4 p.m.