SMC Dominates in 5-0 Win Against Rio Hondo College.
The Santa Monica College Corsairs men’s soccer team won 5-0 against Rio Hondo College on Tuesday Sept. 29, after dominating the Roadrunners in both halves. The Corsairs responded with a win after a 3-3 draw against Norco College. The Corsairs kept possession for the majority of the game, allowing no scoring opportunities for the Roadrunners.
Going into the game, SMC head coach Tim Pierce talked about how other teams are beating them from direct actions rather than moving the ball. He also explained how his team prepared defensively, after conceding three goals in their previous match against Norco.
“Dealing with ball on top of the back line, set pieces, cross ball situations, and it’s mainly coming off direct actions,” Pierce said.
Both teams struggled to keep possession in the first half often with rushed passes. Around 30 minutes into the match, midfielder Angel Diaz received the ball around 40 yards from his opponent's half. He passed by five defenders then passed it to forward Robert Mejia who slotted it into the bottom left corner giving The Corsairs a 1-0 lead.
The Corsairs began connecting their passes which created multiple opportunities for their second goal. Two minutes later, Angel Diaz received the ball 15 yards from the goal and crossed it into the box to forward Miguel Cano, who scored the goal top left giving the Corsairs a 2-0 lead.
With two minutes left in the first half, midfielder Anthony Lopez intercepted a pass from the Roadrunners. He broke away from two defenders and scored in the bottom right to make it 3-0.
Scoring the first goal gave the Corsairs the confidence in creating scoring opportunities. Coach Tim explains the Roadrunners were in a mid to low block and the first goal allowed the game to open up. “We got the first goal, it opened up a little bit. We got the second goal, then of course the game opened up because the other team is not just sitting there and accept being down a couple of goals,” Pierce said.
The Corsairs kept possession of the ball, and created multiple scoring opportunities resulting in two goals in the second half. During the second half the Roadrunners picked up two yellow cards. Defender Demian Carrillo received a yellow after committing a late tackle. Two minutes later midfielder Joshua Martinez received one as well for preventing Midfielder Noah Johannes from going forward.
Throughout the second half, the Corsairs held up on defense allowing only two scoring opportunities for the Roadrunners. Around minute 32, goalkeeper Diego Barillas Paredes made a save after defender Sebastian Vargas-Loyola tried to dribble past and the Roadrunners stole the ball.
In the last 10 minutes of the second half the Corsairs found the back of the net twice. In minute 37, the Corsairs intercepted the ball in their own half, and went into a fast counter attack with midfielder Niko Martinez playing a through ball to forward Santiago Veizaga who then crossed the ball into the box for forward Zen Franco, who then scored the fourth goal.
The fifth goal came in the last two minutes of the game. The Corsair’s forward Noah Johannes got the ball in the opponents box, he quickly turned and was 1v1 against the keeper, the keeper saved the shot but Johannes got the rebound and scored.
With the referee deciding on no added time, the game ended with a 5-0 win for the Corsairs. After the match, team member Daniel Sozia spoke about his team’s overall performance. , “We were way more creative than last game and after losing the ball, we all rushed to get it back,” Sozia said.
Despite the 5-0 win, Coach Pierce explains the team can still improve certain things into their game. “I'm trying to enter to clear the ball, into their mindset. Just clear lines and get through the half,” Pierce said.
The Corsairs will play their next game away on Friday, Oct. 2, at 4 p.m. against Oxnard College.