With some added confidence from a dominant performance against West LA on Tuesday, the Raiders continued their strong play on Friday afternoon in a tough game against Santa Monica College that resulted in a 3-3 tie.
The Raiders got off to a quick start scoring all three of their goals in the first 16 minutes of the game as they were able to take an early 3-0 advantage. Forward, Tatiana Delgado scored two goals on assists by center-midfielder, Danielle Boggess and defender, Taylor Johnson. Midfielder, Elizabeth Rodriguez also scored a goal on an assist by Delgado.
Santa Monica College answered back with one goal and the Raiders would take a 3-1 lead into halftime. Even with Moorpark College putting together its best half of play so far this season, Head Coach Miguel Ruiz expected the game to intensify and really heat up in the second half.
“I think the first half was the best half we have played so far this year to be honest,” said Ruiz. “I was very happy with the first half but I know the head coach on Santa Monica and I knew they were gonna come back at us hard, very physical, and we didn’t really respond to the physicality of the game in the second half, but it’s a learning experience and it’s still preseason.”
In the second half Santa Monica College used their physicality to change the outcome of the game. While the Raiders in the first half were on the offensive and playing a fast pace style, in the second half the physical play slowed the pace of the game allowing Santa Monica College to take advantage and slowly chip away at the score tying the game at 3-3 in the 88th minute of the game.
“Our first half was really good, we communicated well and passed the ball around well, and did what we were supposed to do,” said center-midfielder and team captain Danielle Boggess. “Then in the second half we were too focused on the defensive side of things and lost our offensive side.
“We didn’t give up but we have to be able to handle the physical play better and give it back to keep our pace and not play down to theirs [opponent’s pace].”
Although a tie was not what the Raiders were hoping for after outplaying Santa Monica College for the majority of the game the defense and team as a whole showed grit and resilience.
“We could have faltered and really fell apart, but we pulled through and we got the tie,” said Ruiz.“I’m happy with our performance and we are moving in the right direction.”
This game could prove to be a statement performance and building block for the conference games ahead. As Ruiz has stated before, having so many strong out-of-conference match-ups will only benefit Moorpark College as the conference games are right around the corner.
The Raiders take on Antelope Valley on Tuesday, Sept 19 in their next game.
