Despite a couple scares, the Moorpark College Raiders were able to pull out a victory against the Allan Hancock College Bulldogs 3-2.

The Raiders came out of the gates slowly, seemingly unable to gain any significant positive momentum in the match.

The Raiders were not short on opportunities to score, but it looked as though each scoring chance was as fruitless as the previous. The amount of missed shots on goal in the first half equaled eight.

Whether it was the five missed shots, two unsuccessful corner kicks, or the fruitless free kick, the Raiders could not get anything going.

All of that changed when Juan Santiago took his defender one on one, and nailed the game’s first goal.

The momentum felt as though it had shifted. This feeling lasted less than a minute as the Bulldogs would proceed to score almost immediately after the Raiders.

As the 1st half was coming to an end it seemed as though going into halftime tied was a certainty. That was until Santiago had an impressive assist to compliment his goal, giving the Raiders a 2-1 lead at the half.

The Raiders seemed disjointed defensively in the second half, giving up two trips well into their territory early. The Bulldogs looked as though they came out more aggressive and the Raiders seemed as though they were backed on their heels.

Despite this, another goal gave them some extra cushion, pushing the lead to 3-1.

The match seemed over at this point yet the Bulldogs would make it interesting again as they put in another goal to make it 3-2.

The scare would prove to be nothing more as the Raiders would close out the Bulldogs 3-2.

Head Coach Sean Roche believed that his team stole the victory from the Bulldogs, stating that they had played much better than his Raider team.

“[They were] as quick as us, sometimes quicker,” he said.

The Raiders Men’s Soccer team improved to 5-2-1 on the year, including an impressive 2-0 start in Western State conference play.