Men’s Soccer Scores in 90th Minute to Tie Chaffey

MONTEREY PARK, CA — The East Los Angeles College men’s soccer team erased two 2-goal deficits, scored in the 90th minute and earned a 4-4 draw in a key South Coast Conference game.

The Huskies remain in the SCC title race and are 6-1-5 overall and 2-1-1 in the SCC. Chaffey is 5-3-3 and 0-1-2.  

“We showed perseverance and determination today coming off a two-goal deficit and coming back again,” said ELAC Assistant Coach David Garcia. “We knew they had size and special set pieces to take advantage of their height, but it’s good to see a group of individuals (ELAC) willing to play until the last minute even when things weren’t going our way.”

Chaffey scored two goals in the first nine minutes, which began with a goal from sophomore defender Brian Luna Munoz (assist by freshman forward Gustavo Chavez) in the seventh minute and Chaffey led, 1-0.

The Panthers scored two minutes later with a goal from freshman defender Ivan Macias (assist by freshman forward Oscar Casillas-Palomar) and led 2-0.

ELAC responded with a goal from sophomore midfielder Edward Robles (Wallis Annenberg HS), assisted by freshman forward Salvador Alvarez (Locke HS) in the 15th minute.

Three minutes later, Chaffey found the net in the 18th minute off a shot from sophomore forward Adrian Moreno (assist by Oscar Casillas-Palomar) and led 3 -1.

In the 34th minute, Robles bagged a brace with his second goal (unassisted) and ELAC was down 3-2.

Chaffey scored in the 45th minute off a goal from Casillas-Palomar (assist by freshman defender Alexis Pinon) and led 4-2 at the half.

ELAC came out the aggressor in the second half and had some real opportunities, but could not put them away. 

Sophomore defender Augustin Barros (Santiago, Chile / St. George College) scored a goal for ELAC off a penalty kick in the 70th minute.

Alvarez scored a dramatic goal in the 90th minute, assisted by freshman forward Kevin Rodriguez (Hawkins HS). Chaffey came back, had a shot on goal five seconds before the final whistle blew, which was saved by ELAC freshman goalkeeper Luis Angel Alvarez (Aspire Ollin HS).

Luis Angel Alvarez had seven total saves.

“Early half we were the team proposing. We got desperate when the clock was winding down, but we showed composure,” said Garcia. “To a degree our plan was executed but it just didn’t go as smoothly as we hoped.”

The Huskies crowd stayed vocal even when down 2-0 and 3-1 and believed in the team, who believed in themselves.

“We kicked off the game playing to Chaffey’s game plan, not ours, but made adjustments,” said freshman defender Jose Abel Mancilla Tinoco. “What got us through was our mentality.”

“We didn’t get the result we wanted, but we didn’t lose,” said Mancilla Tinoco. “We need to practice on our transitioning.”

The Huskies next play four SCC crossover games including two against Top-10 statewide ranked teams, beginning with an away game at LA Harbor College (2-7-3) on Friday Oct. 13 at 6 p.m.

Follow ELAC Athletics at http://athletics.elac.edu/landing/index and ELAC Huskies Athletics on Facebook.

story submitted by Tadzio Garcia