The first minute of the men’s soccer game really set the tone as to how the game would be played when the Moorpark College Raiders faced off against the Oxnard College Condors on Oct. 10, in a 1-1 draw.
From the Raiders’ first half kickoff, they were looking to score. Raiders forward Josh Hibbert was a big part of the Raiders attack in the first 15 minutes of the game.
“We just wanted to get an early goal,” said Hibbert. “We just pressed hard, and worked for a goal, the sooner the better.”
The Raiders, however, didn’t have a first half goal, nor did the Condors. As the teams went into half time at a 0-0 tie, fans expected to see a high energy second half.
The Condors came out of half time the more aggressive of the two teams. Ten minutes into the second half, No. 4 Jonny Martinez of the Condors shot a screamer on the ground that was too hot for Raiders goal keeper Barry Uko to handle.
The Condors head coach Ross Greaney was pleased with the results that his forward gave him.
“That goal wasn’t unexpected at all,” said Greaney. “He makes shots like that all the time in practice, what was surprising was that we didn’t score off of any of his crosses.”
After falling down 1-0, you could tell that the Raiders weren’t going to go down without a fight. Five minutes after the Condors scored, the Raiders came back with a goal of their own.
The call was a little controversial, as some of the Condors’ defenders thought that the ball had rolled out of bounds, but it was never called out. Raiders’ No. 3 Augustin Cazarez received the ball inside the Condors six yard box, and just poked the ball right past the goalie, putting the game at a deadlock.
That is where the scoring would end however. The biggest threat after the Raiders tied the game was on the kick off after the goal. The Condors kicked off the ball and put a shot on goal from mid-field that sailed well over the goal keepers head, and the goal.
Raiders’ Head Coach Sean Roche was proud with the way his young team performed, and held their own against the powerhouse Condors.
“[The Condors] record doesn’t reflect the quality of their team,” said Roche. “We are developing in to a team of fighters.”
Both teams are powerhouses in the conference and look to keep it up in their conference games around the corner.
The Raiders will face Santa Barbara City College on Oct. 14 with kick off set for 2 p.m. The Condors come home to face off against Glendale Community College on Oct. 14 with kick off set for 4 p.m.
