LBCC women’s soccer team loses in a penalty shootout, resulting in a final score of 5-4 after finishing full time scoreless to Mt. San Antonio College in the South Coast Conference Tournament final on Friday at El Camino College.
Even though the Vikings’ goalkeeper Vivian Toomey saved the Mounties’ third shot during the, LBCC was defeated after missing their sixth penalty kick.
The Vikings had eight shots in total, testing the keeper once, with the Mounties taking 10 shots and having Toomey make four saves.
Both sides committed 30 fouls in total, with two yellow cards being handed out to either team.
Going into the match, the Vikings were on a 6-game-winning streak after defeating El Camino 3-0 in the semi-finals on Tuesday. Mt. SAC was on a 16-game winning streak with their win over Rio Hondo in the other semi-final matchup.
Earlier in the conference season, LBCC lost 1-0 at Mt. SAC with the game being dominated by the home team.
“Last time we played this team, we came out nervous and gave them more opportunities than they even got close to today. We did a really good job of playing them differently and we had the line share of opportunities,” LBCC Coach Eduardo Nunes said. “We played them way better than last time and that’s what I want out of this.”
Early on in the game, the Vikings were close in the 2nd minute to opening the score line as forward Genesis Lopez hit the crossbar from a header.
In the 11th and 12th minutes, Viking forwards Evelyn Sandoval and Genesis Lopez each had their shot attempts go wide of the goal.
For the rest of the first half, both teams could not break each other’s defense. LBCC came close to scoring with Diana Leon being played a through ball behind the Mounties’ defense that ended up being called off for offside.
The second half was a mirror to how the first half finished, as neither team could score.
LBCC midfielder Adelia Villasenor took an opportunity outside of the penalty box with her shot being caught by the Mountie’s goalkeeper.
With only a few minutes remaining of what seemed like a stalemate, a breakthrough was made as Mt. SAC forward Veronica Aquino dribbled towards the goal, going past two Vikings defenders, but could only hit the inside of the woodwork, rebounding the ball back to Toomey.
Full time ended with a score of 0-0 which meant that the match would be decided in a penalty shootout.
Viking’s forward Genesis Lopez took the first penalty shot of the game, which was blocked as the Mounties were able to score theirs and take the lead.
The second penalty saw both teams scoring, with the third being saved by Vikings goalkeeper Toomey diving left as midfielder Villasenor put the Vikings level at 2-2.
The rest of the penalties were scored, but the 6th penalty would be the decider, with Vikings midfielder Aimee McSparren hitting her shot wide of the goal and Mt. SAC scoring their last penalty to win 5-4 and become SCC Champions.
As heartbreaking as it is to lose on penalties, the Vikings were positive as they ran to their goalkeeper to celebrate together, putting out a hard-fought performance against an opposition ranked #3 in the state.
“I am honestly not too upset about it because I think that we played well and were the better team,” goalkeeper Toomey said of the defeat. “We had possession throughout the entire game and just needed to execute our chances.”
After 19 games, the Viking’s overall record is now 15-2-3.
The Vikings will play again on Sunday in the 2nd round of the CCCAA Playoffs as they have a first-round bye.