Reserve Frosh Nets Rare Haul (Four Goals) to Lead Huskies to 5-2 Win

by Cerwin D Haynes

East LA Men's Soccer has shown plenty of grit this season, particularly in the past month as starter after starter landed in the trainers' room with various injuries. It has, however, compromised the scoring ability of a team that already struggled to put the ball into the net. To wit: the Huskies had only scored 16 goals in 20 games this season, and three goals scored in the previous five games. Head coach Eddie Flores was simply looking anywhere he could to find offense at a time he needed it the most: the South Coast Conference Tournament, where the #8 seeded Huskies (8-11-3) played host to #9 seed Pasadena City College (7-10-3) .

Enter freshman Brazilian MF Anco Veigo.

Coach Flores summoned Veigo off the bench during the 31' of the first half with the game tied at 1. PCC would actually take the lead 37 seconds later as Lancer Esai Matchan received a lead pass from Santiago Rivera and fired a box shot past starting GK Milton Salazar. No one had any inclination that Veigo was about to have a career night at that point. But it wouldn't take long to bear witness - less than five minutes later near the end of the 36', Veigo netted his first collegiate goal, an 18-yd blast off a drop pass from Alessandro Leon to tie the game 2-2. About two and a half minutes later, Veigo received a center pass from Angel Rubio and kicked a quick blast from 5-yds out that found the net again, giving the Huskies a 3-2 lead that they would take into halftime.

At this point, Veigo was tied for the lead in team goals with Viktor Negreiro and Bryant Guerrero. And East LA was at their high-water mark for the most goals scored in a game.

But Veigo wasn't finished.

During the 55' in the second half, a loose ball found its way in front of the Brazilian 10 yards from the net. His foot let it rip, and he had his third goal of the season and game to give the home Green a 4-2 lead. With regular starting GK Santiago Pagnutti now guarding the net, the Huskies leaned on his strong, heads up play to help turn away and diffuse multiple Pasadena scoring chances to protect the lead for the latter 45 minutes.

With the final minute veering into bonus injury time, Veigo got a chance to emphatically shut the door on PCC. On a breakaway, the freshman was able to dribble and circle the ball around reserve GK Chris Morazan, who was playing up from the net on the left side. With Morazan temporarily out of position, Veigo was able to tap the ball into an unguarded net to cap an amazing night.

It was the most goals by a single Huskies' player in at least nine seasons.

HUSKY BITS

• Freshman MF Angel Rubio had a goal and an assist (both firsts for the season). His header during the 30' tied the score at 1.
• Another freshman, M Alessandro Leon, had two assists. It was his first two assists for the season.

NEXT UP:

#7 seed Compton hosted #10 LA Harbor. The Tartars defeated the Seahawks 2-1, so the Huskies will travel to Compton Tuesday to play for seventh place. Game time TBA.