LBCCs’ forward Hector Tellez with an assist from defender Nikolas Huebel scored the game-winning goal to advance the men’s soccer team to the fourth round of the southern California regional playoffs on Tuesday after an intense game against Fullerton College which went into double overtime.
This third round was a very chippy game whereas multiple yellow cards were thrown.
Forward Jose Mariscal played aggressively and made it so that Fullerton wasn’t getting a chance to score.
“Our hard work and perseverance gave us that big leap to be able to score,” Mariscal said.
LBCC attempted twelve shots but were only successful in one.
Double overtime ended 1-0, with an LBCC win, meaning they will face Cerritos on Saturday with a chance to advance to the 3C2A state championship game.
Goalkeeper Abraham Ramirez had multiple crucial saves especially toward the end.
“Abraham made one very big nice save for us toward the end and it helped bring the momentum back,” Head Assistant Coach Cameron Beaulac said.
Both teams were playing defense well and not letting each other score but LBCC wasn’t backing down for any of it.
The game remained scoreless for the remainder of regulation, which then turned into double overtime where only LBCC managed to score.
Tensions were high toward the end of the game after Hector Tellez scored the winning goal and the whole team ran onto the field before the game ended, resulting in a yellow card that pushed the team back.
“We need to be more clinical, keep on pushing, and recover from our mistakes faster ahead of this game on Saturday,” midfielder Julian Zarate said.
As for preparing for the next game against Cerritos, coach Beaulac said that the coaches will be working hard to set their team up for success.
If the team advances on Saturday against Cerritos they will play in the state championships on Dec. 6th.