The LBCC Vikings cruised to a 4-0 victory over the Mt. San Jacinto Eagles on Tuesday to improve their preseason record to 5-0.
There is an obvious game plan from the Vikings this year and that is to come out firing as soon as the whistle blows. Freshman forward Genesis Lopez did just that as she sent an Eagles defender to the ground with a fake shot, took a dribble, and placed a perfect shot into the top right corner to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead in the 6 minute.
When asked how it felt to score that outstanding goal Lopez said; “we like getting the first goal out of the way, and it feels good to score always.”
Freshman midfielder Paige Rodriguez was doing the distributing for the Vikings as she constantly created opportunities on the wings with her precise passes.
Rodriguez’s play was emulated by the rest of the Vikings as every player was looking to pass as soon as they got the ball, which ultimately created opportunities for the Vikings and exhausted the Eagles on a hot day.
Vikings head coach Eduardo Nunes reflected on this clinical passing saying; “this was easily one of the best possession games we’ve had so far.”
With that being said, the Vikings were only able to put one past the Eagles in the first half, but it only took one minute into the second half for the ball to find freshman forward Evelyn Sandoval, as it so often does, and after the ball was deflected into the air a few times, she headed it passed the Eagles keeper for a 2-0 lead.
The Vikings continued to put pressure on the Eagles with a flurry of chances from the Viking attackers. The constant pressure earned the Vikings a 66 minute corner which was beautifully delivered and bounced around off a couple of Eagle defenders and made its way to Genesis Lopez, and she easily put in her second goal of the day, extending the Vikings’ lead to 3-0.
In the 77 minute, freshman forward Diana Leon took a Vikings’ free kick from 30 yards out and did not disappoint. She curled the ball over the Eagles’ wall from right to left and over the out-stretched arm of the Eagles’ goalkeeper and into the top left corner.
All Leon could do was bask in her glory as she stuck her hands out to the side and looked up to the sky after emphatically giving the Vikings a 4-0 lead, which would end up being the final score.
The Vikings look to extend their win streak to 6 when they take on Canyons on Friday, September 16 at 6 p.m. and kick off a four-game road trip.