Moorpark College men’s soccer team played well against the cougars of Taft College, playing solid defense and creating chances but ultimately fell in the final minutes, 1-0.

Moorpark set the tone from the first blow of the whistle, dominating the possession with precise passing. Swinging the ball from side to side and looking to attack down the wings.

 It didn’t take long for the raiders to create their first chance of the match just 11 minutes into the contest, when a through ball from the midfield connected with a raider forward in the box. The promising shot was blocked by a last ditch effort.

Moorpark’s defense suffered a set back when defender Dan Lopez went down with a thigh injury; Fabian Gonzalez stepped in to replace him. The game was very physical with both sides racking up numerous fouls. The second half began and the tides had turned with the cougars heading the offensive. Quick passing amongst the back four and long balls up to the forwards was their primary tactic. The game was tense throughout the entirety of the second half with both teams applying consistent spells of pressure from end to end.

With momentum on their side MC made one last push, playing the ball in the cougars half the midfield found the feet of dangerous forward Lloyd Virgill.

 Virgill tried to take the defender one on one but lost out; after a lucky deflection the ball ended up on Virgill’s feet once again just inside the box, he looked up and hammered a low shot towards the bottom left corner. A great strike, it was stopped by an even better save.

It wasn’t meant to be for Moorpark, and the cougars would be the ones to find the net in the dying embers of the game. In stoppage time off of a quick throw-in, a Taft midfielder split two Moorpark defenders along the touchline into the box and fired home a line drive shot from an acute angle; all but securing the cougars victory.

Head coach Sean Roche was disappointed by the loss but not by his team’s performance.

 “Well, we were better than we were last game controlled the ball and kept our shape. Created better chances in the second half, Lloyd impressed once. It was a physical game, and physical games are always difficult to play. There are many young players on the squad and our youth mentality let us down at the most critical moment of the game which was at the end.”

This defeat puts the raiders early season record at 1-4. They will be looking to rebound this Friday, Sept. 23, against Cypress College. The game is at Moorpark and begins at 2p.m.