With the Santa Ana winds in full effect, the Moorpark Men’s Soccer team blew onto the field with a burst of energy against the Glendale College Vaqueros. The Raiders fought throughout the game only allowing the Vaqueros to take four shots on goal. But four shots was too many as the Raiders were blown away 0-2.
Head coach Jake Gwin has led the team since 2017. As well as being a high school teacher, Gwin has over 20 years of coaching experience and has led his teams to six CIF section titles and two state finals.
“They’re hungry to learn just like in a classroom, but they just have to pass the tests which are the games,” Gwin explained. “They were getting C’s on these tests, were doing good homework and were doing good assignments and all that has been great, but we need to get A’s in order to be successful at this level.”
The game was mostly offensive with the Raiders taking 13 shots and the Vaqueros taking four. Unfortunately for the Raiders, the Vaqueros four shots resulted in two goals.
“I thought we created well and we went forward well, we just lacked when it came to finishing,” said forward Jason Bar, a sophomore. “We were just trying to come in here with as much energy and positivity as possible and trying to get that [win], but we came up short.”
To pile onto the disappointment of the loss, the Raiders forward, Brian Ramos, faced an injury during an attempt for a goal in the second half. Ramos cramped up and had to crawl off the field. Before the medic could arrive, he was aided by Glendale’s goalie in a show of good sportsmanship.
Ramos managed to retain a positive attitude despite his injury.
“I thought we touched the ball better. We have been working on that in practice so we really showed that on the field. We just had to execute it better and execute our finishing. I think that’s what killed us today,” Ramos described. “It’s my job as a forward to help this team. It’s my job to put the goals away so I’m just trying to get the ball in the net and trying to get my team to go and drop more goals, not just me and pick up the team moral around me.”
The Raiders are now 2-4 with a total of five goals and 55 shots on goal. They will face East LA College on Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 3 p.m. at East LA.
“It’s been quite a great improvement. It’s really night and day with the mentality of the group, with the quality of soccer that’s being played. Even though we lost the last two games I still enjoy watching them play,” said Gwin, firmly believing in the teams ability, “It’s a fun team to coach.”
