LBCC men’s and women’s soccer teams wrapped up their seasons after losses to Fullerton and Mt. SAC in the 3rd round of the CCCAA SoCal Regionals on Nov. 22.
Mounties defender Fatima Arnold scored the decisive goal as the women’s team couldn’t find a way to respond in a tight game that had few opportunities for either team. This was the 3rd straight loss for the Vikings in their head-to-head record against the Mounties.
Opponents Mt. SAC ranking 3rd in the state was the benchmark for the Vikings as they couldn’t find a way to score or defeat them in the three meetings they faced off this season, including losing in a penalty shootout.
The Vikings capped off their season, winning the conference title for the first time since 2005 after beating L.A. Harbor 1-0, as forward Evelyn Sandoval scored the only goal of the game to put LBCC’s hands on the league trophy.
They finished the conference season with a record of 8-1 including defeating difficult opponents, Rio Hondo, El Camino, and Cerritos College.
The Vikings faced off against Mt. SAC in the SCC Tournament final but again couldn’t find a breakthrough finishing a cagey 90 minutes 0-0. They ultimately lost out in a penalty shootout 5-4 with goalkeeper Vivian Toomey able to save one Mounties penalty.
“I’m very proud of how the team did this year. For being a team of all freshmen that didn’t know each other at the start, we had a great season,” said Sandoval. “There’s so much skill and talent on the team that I know we will make it even further next season.”
The Vikings had several clinical outings beating Compton 8-0, Los Angeles City 7-0, Pasadena 6-0, and East Los Angeles College 7-0 at the beginning of the conference season.
The Vikings attacking trio all got in on the action as Diana Leon finished as the leading goalscorer for the Vikings and in the SCC Conference with 17 goals, while forward Genesis Lopez got 15 and Sandoval put away 14.
The Vikings overall record finished 16-3-3 and scored a total of 64 goals from 22 games.
Vikings midfielder Paige Rodriguez set up nine goals, and goalkeeper Vivian Toomey kept 14 clean sheets.
Head Coach Eduardo Nunes was awarded SCC South Coach of the Year, Sandoval earned herself SCC South Offensive Player of the year, and defender Rya Cabral got SCC South Defensive player.
“It feels like a big accomplishment for me. I came onto this team knowing I wanted to make a big impact, and it feels good knowing that the hard work I put in didn’t go unnoticed,” said Sandoval on being awarded offensive player of the year.
Vikings forward Genesis Lopez, forward Diana Leon, midfielder Melanie Guerrero, and midfielder Paige Rodriguez made the All-SCC South Division First team, with four Viking players represented in the All-SCC South Division second team.
The Men’s team was knocked out of the CCCAA SoCal Regionals by Fullerton 2-1 and finished 3rd in the conference standings, going 3-3-3.
The Vikings couldn’t find a comeback after scoring from a penalty kick in the dying minutes of the game, the hornets goalkeeper produced a diving save right at the end with the referee blowing the whistle to end their season.
The men’s team had many problems in and amongst the team with arrogance problems resulting in ties and losses against teams they feel they should be taking a victory against. There were several highlights as they beat hard opponents in Mt. SAC 3-2 and Chaffey 2-0.
“I’m proud of how our team persevered through the ups and downs of the season. We were a team that kept getting better all year, and it’s disappointing not to have gone farther,” said midfielder Leo Sanchez.
In the SCC Tournament, they finished in 3rd place by defeating Rio Hondo 3-1 with goals from midfielder Miguel Arroyo, a first-time strike from midfielder Leo Sanchez, and defender Adam Quijano sealing the victory. The Vikings lost in the semi-finals to Cerritos College 4-1 with forward Diego Albanez scoring in the 90th minute.
Forward Diego Albanez finished as the leading goalscorer for the Vikings with nine goals, followed by forward Jesus Moreno getting seven and Sanchez scoring five.
Moreno led in assists for the Vikings with six, and goalkeeper Ryan Swan had seven clean sheets and made the All-SCC South Second team.
Arroyo and defenders Quijano and Adrian Acevedo earned spots in the All-SCC South First team.
“The standards have been set high for the following years as for the second year in a row, we were the #6 seeds in the south. LBCC attracts talent, and I’m looking forward to following along with how the team does in the years to come,” said Sanchez on the expectations for next season’s players.
The men’s and women’s teams will return to their season in September next year.