Omar Laris had an assist in the Golden West 2-1 win over Rio Hondo College. Western Sun Photo Sarah Martinez
By Sarah Martinez
Western Sun staff writer
The Golden West men’s soccer team hosted and held off Rio Hondo College, 2-1 on Friday, Sept. 2.
The victory was its first win of the season a week after tying Southwestern College on Friday, Aug. 26 in their season opener, 2-2.
The first goal of the game came when Omar Laris kicked a long pass across the field and Jose De La Cruz finished by putting the ball into the corner of the goal.
Less than five minutes later the Rustlers extended their lead to two when Juan-Carlos Rodriguez managed to get another shot behind the Rio Hondo goalie.
“It felt awesome. We worked so hard on this game, and to get the winning goal, I feel so much inside of me right now,” Rodriguez said.
“Everyone ran their butts off and we played 100 percent today and that’s what we did to win this game.”
The Rustlers managed to control most of the game by playing a majority of the game on the offensive side of the field. However, Jonathan Ramirez from Rio Hondo managed to score and put the pressure on GWC to play strong defense.
The Rustlers’ goalie rose to the occasion and made a diving save late in the game to preserve the lead.
“We had a perfect game and don’t need to work on anything. Everyone gave 200 percent today and that’s all we need to do. If everyone continues to play that hard we could win every game,” Rodriguez said.
The win brought Golden West’s record to 1-0-1. The Rustlers next host the 0-1 El Camino College Warriors on Tuesday, Sept. 6 and then travel to play the 1-0 Cerritos College Falcons on Friday, Sept. 9.
