The Moorpark College Raiders played host to the L.A. Mission Eagles on Tuesday evening, shutting them out 2-0. The win served as confidence booster, and also provided a bright spot in a darkened string of recent games.

The Raiders were losers of five straight games coming in to Tuesday’s matchup, and the complete team play helped to notch a much-needed stat in the win column.

“The team showed their true potential,” Head Coach Sean Roche said. “Possibly the best performance of the season for each of those that played.”

The game got off to an aggressive start from both sides, with both teams coming out in attack mode. Goalkeeper Martin Martines fended off multiple shots while also getting help from the great defensive unit. On the other end, the Raider offense stayed focused and cohesive while keeping the Eagle defense on edge.

The game began to get physical when Raider midfielder Chip Dapello was pulled down by an Eagle opponent near the end of the first half. The incident could have stemmed from a previous physical occurrence that also included Dapello near the Eagle’s goal net.

After a scoreless first half, both teams returned to the field after assessing what was needed to pull ahead. The game began to get more heated during the second half when Trent Madison of the Raiders ran across the field to defend his team mate on what he felt was a dirty play. Madison gave the opponent a piece of his mind before both sides were restrained and play resumed.

Much of the same was in store for the remainder of the game as referees had to assess multiple yellow cards and also had to break up a shoving match between two opponents from each team.

In the midst of all of this activity, midfielder Sam Curren was able to score on an assist from Omar Gonzalez at about the 66th minute, and again unassisted at the 75th minute. This put the Raiders up 2-0, and with their defense holding for the rest of the game, the Raiders pulled out the win.

“The goals came from an overall more forceful attitude in attacking throughout the game,” Roche explained. “They came from a passage of play where they had problems containing us…the goals were scrappy, but any goal is a good goal.”

This win puts the Raiders one spot above Allan Hancock in the Western State conference standings, but they are still far from the top. Big losses to conference-leading teams, Oxnard and Santa Monica, in their previous two games have left the Raiders in dire need to finish out the season strong.

“I [think] that we have the will to win in every game,” Roche said.

The Raiders will face Allan Hancock on Friday, November 4th, before facing Santa Barbara and Oxnard the following week.