Men’s Soccer succumbed to the late pressure of the Santa Barbara City College Vaqueros on Tuesday, Nov. 6 as they let an early lead slip to a 2-3 defeat.

  Moorpark College looked dominant early on.  Jose Mora, No. 7 scored just ten minutes after the kickoff with a strong, short-distance strike from inside the 18th minute. Things were looking good for the Raiders until Vaquero’s Jamie Sporcic connected with a low cross from his teammate Chijioke Aranotu to tie the game in the 18th minute. 

The Raiders responded well with a goal by No. 11 AJ Felton in the 25 minute. Felton took his chance with power from short-range, and blasted past the keeper after receiving a precisely placed aerial pass from midfielder No.5 Nico Sabbatella. The Raiders led 2-1 heading into halftime.

As expected, the Vaqueros opened up hard. Lots of pressure and aggression kept the Raiders on the defensive. Moorpark College was absorbing the pressure, according to Jade Jordin , a midfielder on Moorpark’s College Women’s Soccer Team. 

“They were doing good and then, well I don’t know what happened,” said Jordin.

In the 68th minute a penalty was awarded against the Raiders for a hand-ball, and although the initial attempt hit the crossbar, the rebound was hammered in to tie the game 2-2.

Just two minutes later, the Vaqueros struck the final blow when Kian Chachi put the game winning goal past the Raiders’ keeper. The score stayed 3-2 and Moorpark College suffered their eighth loss of the season.

“We basically fell to the pressure,” said Raiders’ midfielder Bryan Morales