The Oxnard College Men’s Soccer team is off to a strong start, defeating the Citrus College Fighting Owls 1-0 in Tuesday afternoon’s Western State Conference opener at Oxnard.

Business was slow for the Condors defensively, as the Fighting Owls could only muster two unsuccessful shot attempts in the first half. As a result, Oxnard found itself on the offensive end of the field for nearly the entire game.

Condor Head Coach Ross Greaney said that Citrus College’s lack of offense had more to do with its own defense than it did with his team’s defense.

“We have been scoring a lot in games and [the Fighting Owls] knew that,” said Greaney. “They sat back near their own goal as a sort of defensive strategy.”

Focusing on defense, Citrus College was able to hand Oxnard College a scoreless first half. The second half was much like the first but the Condors slowly became increasingly frustrated as 12 of their scoring opportunities were either missed or blocked by Fighting Owl goal keeper Tery Mitchell.

With time winding down Oxnard College was desperate for a score. Four minutes remained when Condor midfielder Albert Anguiano drove the ball behind Mitchell for a game-winning goal.

Although the game was only the Condors first in the WSC, Greaney believes that any win within the conference is a triumph.

“It’s a tough conference,” he said. “Every team is in a tight battle to win.”

The battle continues at Santa Barbara when the Condors take on the Vaqueros Friday at 4 p.m.