Men’s Soccer Holds Off San Diego City for First Win

It was gas pedal to the floor right from the jump as the Santiago Canyon College men's soccer team looked to earn its first win of the season by hosting the San Diego City College Knights on home turf. All the Hawks' scoring came in the first 13 minutes of the game, but a pesky San Diego City squad made things interesting despite playing a man down in the second half.

It was easy going in the first half as the Hawks etched their first score in the third minute of play compliments of sophomore forward Jorge Garcia Cruz. Just four minutes later, freshman forward Diego Rivera got in on the scoring action after putting a head on a beautifully placed free kick from Garcia Cruz.

The ball was so well placed that two Santiago Canyon players had an opportunity to score, but the second option in Rivera found then back of the net after a diving effort to grant the Hawks a 2-0 advantage.

Not much time passed after the Hawks were in scoring position once again. In the 13^th minute, freshman midfielder Nick Asam corralled a loose ball in the box and tapped it passed the Knight's outstretched goalkeeper to gain a 3-0 lead.

Not much action continued to brew in the following minutes as the defensive line consisting of sophomore Trent Cleboski, freshman Connor Berger and sophomore Rene Coello held down the fort bringing a three-nil SCC advantage into the break. Freshman defender Ricky Walker, who played the remainder of the second half, showed strong signs by holding San Diego City relatively at bay as well.

Tempers flared in the second half as the Knights earned their first red card of the season to play a man down. Nevertheless, they continued to fight and scored two goals.

The first came on a penalty kick that just whizzed past the outstretched arms of freshman goalkeeper Juan Pablo Alvarez in the 65^th minute. The second resulted from a broken defensive play that worked into the far side of the goal in the 71^st minute.

However, the strong defensive lockdown continued to hold highlighted by some acrobatic saves from Alvarez leading to a 3-2 win.

Alvarez (1-1) finished with a season-high six saves en route to the win. Garcia Cruz notched the opening score and contributed an assist. Rivera and Asam followed with a netter each.

Garcia Cruz led with four shots, while Rivera, Asam and freshman midfielder Hudson Dare fired off two attempts.