The Taft College men's soccer team is off to a fast start after picking up a pair of victories over Allan Hancock College and Pasadena City College at home during opening weekend. The Cougars earned a 3-0 shutout over Allan Hancock on Friday and rallied in the second half to defeat Pasadena 3-2 on Saturday.
The Cougars tallied 13 shots for the game against the AHC Bulldogs but were held scoreless over the opening 45 minutes. Taft finally broke through in the second half, getting a goal from freshman Moises Cisneros in the 65th minute to put the Cougars ahead for good. Sophomore Ernesto Velazquez sealed the victory with his goal in the 80th minute.
Freshman goalkeeper Jaime Tiscareno was impressive in his Taft debut, earning the shutout with four saves.
Taft had more difficult time on Saturday and had to come from behind after trailing 2-1 following the first half.
PCC struck first with a goal by Asher Smith before Cougar freshman Kemmich Uribe evened up the contest with his goal in the 25th minute off the assist from Velazquez. That didn't last long as the Lancers scored on the ensuing kickoff, going ahead with a goal by Mario Urbina.
But in the second half, Taft tied the game up at 2-2 thanks to freshman Ebubechukwu Ekpemogu's goal (sophomore Elijah Espinoza assist). And in the 80th minute, Espinoza came through with the game-winner, scoring off thanks to the assist from Cisneros.
Tiscareno played the opening 45 minutes in goal with Myron Gregory closing out the contest in the second by keeping Pasadena off the board.
Taft, now 2-0, returns to action on Tuesday (Aug. 31) when the Cougars travel to College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita for a 6:30 p.m. non-conference game. Fans can follow the game live online at https://athletics.taftcollege.edu/sports/msoc/2021-22/boxscores/20210831_js7s.xml.