Daniel Moreno’s goalkeeping kept Moorpark College in the game, earning it a 2-2 tie against Santa Barbara City College in the early afternoon game at the Raiders Pitch Tuesday.
The 6-foot-4 inch tall Moreno used his height to full advantage and held the Vaqueros in check using an array of aerial skills. Whether it was catching balls in the danger zone, tipping shots over the bar, or punching the ball clear, he was equal to the task.
“Against a team stacked with international players, we did a good job even though we conceded a goal in the fashion we anticipated,” Head Coach Sean Roche said. “We played three games in a week for two weeks running, showing that we lasted better than they did.”
Santa Barbara swarmed all over the Raiders’ goal in the first half, striking in the third minute when Kyran Johal broke in behind the defense for an easy goal.
After a scramble in the Vaqueros’ goalmouth, with goalkeeper Angel Cervantes out of position, the ball fell to Javier Hernandez, who smashed home the equalizer in the 14th minute.
“Sometimes hard work beats talent,” Hernandez said. “That’s how it goes when you don’t give up. We have that belief we can do our thing and win every game we play.”
Santa Barbara kept up the pressure and restored the lead when Johal struck again from pointblank range in the 39th minute to make it 2-1.
The Raiders responded with a goal by Hector Chavez directly from a free kick just outside the Vaqueros’ penalty area in the 41st minute to tie the score 2-2 at halftime. It was his second goal scored under similar circumstances in as many games.
“I thought it was Danny’s best game yet and we were able to pull through,” defender Karl Lind said of Moreno. “They definitely thought they were going to win. We ruined their season, so that feels good.”
On the stroke of halftime, Moorpark midfielder Jose Romero received his second yellow card for a foul and was sent off. Fortunately for the Raiders, the Vaqueros’ Jonathon Mora received a red card in the same incident, and both teams were down to 10 men for the remainder of the game.
“With all the adrenalin, we didn’t really notice the [team being a man short] and we had more space to work with,” freshman right back Cole Hajdu said. “Our defensive back line got better as the game went on.”
Despite sustaining two injuries requiring timeouts, Moreno carried on, tipping the ball over the crossbar from a free kick in the 75th minute.
“Both physically and psychologically, I thought they were devastated at the end,” Head Coach Sean Roche said. “It may have been a foregone conclusion on their part to say that they should have beaten us.”
The Raiders (1-5-2) visit Oxnard College (6-1-1) for the return conference match on Friday, Oct. 16 at 4 p.m. The Condors won the first game 5-0 previously at Moorpark.
