ELAC men’s soccer team beats No. 7, 2-0

MONTEREY PARK, CA — With their backs to the wall, the East Los Angeles College men's soccer team won 2-0 against No. 7 statewide-ranked Long Beach City College today.

As a result of the South Coast Conference crossover win, the Huskies jumped back into the playoff picture and an hour later got ranked No. 23 in the state.

“We moved the ball well with our possessions and we kept the high-pressure on top,” said ELAC freshman defender Jose Abel Mancilla Tinoco (Animo Jackie Robinson High School). “In the second half it was a collective effort to score and get the win.”

ELAC improves to 8-3-5 overall and remains in second place in the SCC North at 2-1-1. Long Beach City drops to 9-4-2.

The Huskies scored in the 80th minute off a blast from sophomore midfielder Edward Robles (Wallis Annenberg High School) who capitalized from an assist by sophomore defender Andres Martinez (Santiago, Chile / Instituto Tabancura).

It was the 12th time this year that the Huskies scored with 10 minutes or less remaining in the game. The Huskies have scored 40 goals to date and average outscoring opponents 2.7 to 1.8 goals per game.

For the second time this season, ELAC scored in the 90th minute, this one an unassisted smack from ELAC freshman forward Kevin Rodriquez (Hawkins HS).

ELAC took more shots, 13, although Long Beach had two more shots-on-goal, 9-7.

ELAC sophomore goalkeeper Joshua Moreno (Montebello HS) saved all seven of the Long Beach shots-on-goal attempts. Long Beach City goalkeeper Andres Figueroa-Flores saved five of ELAC’s seven shots-on-goal.

Robles had a game-high three shots-on-goal and Rodriguez took two.

Adding one shot-on-goal each for the Huskies were sophomore midfielder William Morse (Fremont HS) and freshman midfielder Edy Martinez

Robles had a game-high four shots. A trio of Huskies had two shots each, sophomore forward Valentin Mercado (Animo Ralph Bunche HS), sophomore defender Augustin Barros (Santiago, Chile / St. George College) and freshman midfielder Jerson Maravilla (Fremont HS).

Three Huskies had one shot each, Martinez, freshman midfielder Gustavo Silva (San Paulo / Fernando Gasparian) and Morse.

Morse is a transfer from Long Beach City. “The win feels good but it’s a bittersweet feeling,” said Morse. “They treated me well, but I transferred to play with guys on this team, who I believe in.”

The Huskies have five games remaining in the regular season, four against statewide ranked teams beginning at No. 3 Mt. SAC (13-2-2, 3-0-1) on Friday, Oct. 27 with a 6 p.m. start time.

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

story submitted by Tadzio Garcia