The Oxnard College men’s soccer team had a hard pill to swallow, falling to College of the Canyons 4-2 on Tuesday.

Early in the first half, the Condors were controlling the game by maintaining possession and containing field position, not allowing the Cougars to go on the offensive, and preventing them from getting shots on goal.

As the game progressed, however, the Cougars were able to execute offensively and attack the Condor defense. The Cougars were able to score two goals over a five-minute span to take a 2-0 lead.

The Condors responded with a goal of their own from freshman midfielder Sam Nellis.

The Cougars had the same recipe for success in the second half, coming out with an aggressive mindset. The Condors responded with aggressive play on the defensive end.
After the Cougars scored on a long free kick, OC freshman midfielder Abel Pacheco scored a goal that landed in the back corner of the net, narrowing the margin to 3-2 in favor of the Cougars.

The Condors had some opportunities to tie the game up off some passes that set up shot attempts, but were unable to capitalize.

The Condors paid the price for their missed opportunities, giving up their fourth goal of the game, preventing them from sparking a comeback.

Nellis, who scored one of Oxnard’s two goals, was still upbeat about his team’s play despite the loss.

“We kept possession and passed it well,” he said. “We just need to finish the chances we create.”

Although the Condors lost, Nellis remains confident that they will only get better.

“We’ll get it right next time,” he said. “We just need to keep passing it and we’ll have it with our potential.”

Sophomore forward Nate Lytle added that not being able to capitalize on the offensive end contributed to the team’s loss today.

“[We need to] finish the chances we had and we had around 12.”