Game Stats

November 21, 2006

Men’s Soccer:
LBCC season ends with 2-1 second-round playoff loss

The 2006 Long Beach City College men’s soccer season came to a close after the No. 3 seeded Vikings were upset 2-1 by No. 6 L.A. Mission College in Round 2 of the Southern California Regional Playoffs on Tuesday at LBCC.

Despite being outshot 17-7 in the contest, the Vikings held a lead late in the first half.

The Vikings didn’t take their first shot of the game until the 35th minute, but it was a good one as freshman forward Aaron Gutcher (Mayfair HS) chipped his shot over charging L.A. Mission goalie Irvin Rodriguez on a breakaway to give LBCC the 1-0 advantage.

Long Beach had a chance to extend its lead midway through the second half. Sophomore midfielder Marcos Canseco’s (Millikan HS) breakaway shot sailed just wide of an open right side of the goal that allowed Mission to stay in the game.

Mission finally got on the board in the 75th minute, getting the first of two goals from Rudy Maravilla on a corner kick.

Ten minutes later, Maravilla escaped again to score the game-winner in the 85th minute.

The Vikings made one last push to tie the game in added time at the end of the second half. Gutcher’s shot following a corner kick was deflected by a Mission defender just moments before the final whistle.

In his final game as a Viking, sophomore goalie Brendon Welch (St. John Bosco HS) posted 5 saves. Freshman midfielder Jerry Garcia was credited with the assists on the LBCC goal.

Rodriguez made just 1 save for Mission (20-1-3).

With the loss, the South Coast Conference champion Vikings closed the season with a 16-3-3 record. 

For co-head coaches Cameron Beaulac and Pat Noyes, it was their first conference championship and third straight postseason appearance.