Men’s Soccer Edges Oxnard

WEB EXCLUSIVE – The Lancers overcame two early deficits and patience paid off as PCC Men’s Soccer dominated the second half of play and won their third straight match 3-2 over visiting Oxnard Community College.”We were kind of asleep in the first half,” assistant coach Greg Altounian said. “The second half was more physical, and we scored. We took advantage of our opportunities.”

Central defender Malcolm Linton created numerous chances for PCC (5-1) with long throw-ins including a 20-yard rainbow in the seventieth minute Abrik Tahmasian tapped in for the game winner.

Oxnard’s defense was careless with their passing throughout the game and the furious work-rate of PCC’s attackers paid off in the fifty-first minute when forward Sargis Agaronian capitalized on defender Mathayo Huma sloppy pass and muscled his way through the Condor backline and slotted home a left footer that beat keeper Victor Gonzales easily, tying the game at two a piece.

Although the Lancers, who came into the game ranked second in the southern region of California Community Colleges, were in control throughout, Oxnard took advantage of the few chances they were presented with.

Condor midfielder Danny Rodriguez opened scoring in the twenty-seventh minute when he found himself in space from 30 yards out and launched a laser beam into the upper-right corner that PCC keeper Jorge Sainz had no chance stopping.

Oxnard took a 2-1 lead early in the second half when midfielder Johnny Martinez took a page out of the PCC playbook and placed his throw-in into the area. Edgar Cervantes went highest, but his header was deflected by Linton directly to a waiting Sergio Garcia, who headed home into an open net to give the Condors their second lead of the game, 2-1.

Oxnard nearly walked into the locker room up 1-0, but the atrocious passing by the defense was finally exploited when Lancer forward Jose Cortez and James Hernandez played give and go to perfection, leading to a cross that should have easily been cleared.

Instead chaos erupted in front of the net and Garcia was guilty of handling a ball inside the box. Hernandez then walked to the spot and coolly put the Lancers even.

Linton provided most of the offensive opportunities for Pasadena and along with his back line, easily repelled a late attack by Oxnard.

“He’s really vital to our team,” said Altounian.