A wave of suspense surrendered to a jubilant crescendo when Raiders’ defender Ryan Daniels-Stock scored a cracking goal in stoppage time to tie The Citrus College Owls 2-2 on Oct. 23 at Moorpark College.

    The Raiders drew first blood early on when an aerial through-ball from midfielder Brandon Lara found the twinkle-toes of the sure-footed Emmanuel Munguia who scored first from just outside the 18-yard box.  The remainder of the first-half was primarily controlled by the Raiders. They passed the ball well, were effective on the counter-attack and were much more aggressive than in prior games. 

“I think they are playing better. I think that they’re much more confident than they were,” said Head Coach Sean Roche.  

       A forceful header would have made it 2-1 to the Raiders in the final seconds of the first-half if not for a brilliant diving save by the Owl’s keeper.  The Raiders looked confident as they left the pitch at halftime.  

      The Owls came out strong over the next 45 minutes. They were very physically dominant and the foul count rose rapidly. Moorpark College held their ground well, and four minutes in, Munguia put one just wide of the post. The Owls continued to pressure and in the 63 minute, Citrus’ midfielder Cesar Yerena broke through the Raiders’ back line to tie the game 1-1.

   The Raiders showed no fear as the Owls intensified their game. The opposition was getting rough and some of the challenges coming from their defenders were making the spectators wince.  After a debatable penalty was not given to the Owls, the tension got even thicker. Shortly after, a Citrus midfielder received a yellow card for a particularly vicious foul.   

Both teams battled fiercely and in the 82nd minute, Citrus College freshman Ryo Takamine hammered the ball from inside the box to beat the Raiders’ keeper near post. 

 It was a devastating goal for Moorpark College who, having spent most of the game up 1-0, now found themselves trailing 1-2.

The resilient Raiders refused to give in. They turned up the heat, kept fighting, and in stoppage time Ryan Daniels-Stock slammed one in to tie it up for the home team. The crowd went wild and the final whistle blew soon after.

Overall, midfielder Brandon Lara said it was an encouraging performance.  It ended in a draw but on another day the Raiders could have taken the win.

“I think we played pretty good,” said Lara. “We kept the ball. We hit the post like twice, and I think we should have had the game.”

This brings their record to 2-7-5 and keeps them one point behind The Owls.