It was oh so close for the Pasadena City College men's soccer team Friday as the Lancers held a 1-0 lead on the road at state No. 1-ranked Taft after 90 minutes. But with a long stoppage time determined by the referees, Taft drew a foul in the box on PCC six minutes later and capitalized with a penalty kick goal to pull out a 1-1 tie v. unranked Pasadena.
The moment Taft's Leopoldo Hernandez scored his tying goal, the head referee blew the final whistle. David Vazquez-Mena had given PCC (2-2-1) a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute also on a penalty kick goal. Taft's 5-match win streak ended with the deadlock.
PCC goalie Steven Sandoval was credited with six saves and was a big factor in almost recording the shutout.
"We controlled the first half and we had plenty of opportunites, including hitting the crossbar on a few attempts," said PCC head coach Gerry Mora. "Taft came at us especially in the stoppage time, moving players up past midfield and taking plenty of attempts. We played a tremendous game with high intensity against the state No. 1-ranked team. It was a total team effort."
The Lancers starting field unit of Bryce Watson, Alexis Guzman, Romio Sislian, Vazquez-Mena, Anthony Jimenez, Lucas Rodriguez, Santana Nunez, Edson Pulido, Bryan Garcia, and Jonathan Mariona played well as did subs Christopher Munoz, Kevin Madrigal, Edwin De Jesus, Carlos Gonzalez, Joshua Moran, Marvin Moreno, and Emmanual Becerra, who had a late 1-on-1 opportunity that nearly gave his team a 2-0 lead.
PCC returns to action on Friday, Sept. 21 when it visits Glendale College for a 5 p.m. non-conference match.