On the Brink

Glendora, CA -- The Citrus College Men's Soccer team was on the brink of accomplishing something they've only done twice in their previous 16 tries. The Owls came this close to earning a result against perennial WSC power Oxnard College, but a late goal foiled their chances as they fell to the Condors 3-2.

Oxnard proved why they're year in and year out one of the best schools in the conference early on in Tuesday contest. The Condors controlled the tempo of the first half, biding their time and outshooting Citrus 7-2. Oxnard's patient and consistent style of play paid of early for the Condors when they scored in the 13th minute after the Owls failed to transition back into defense off a Citrus free kick.

In the second half, the tempo began to change, and Citrus slowly began to shift momentum into their favor. A little over ten minutes into the half, freshman Erick Romo scored his first of the year after Oxnard failed to clear another Citrus free kick deep in Condor territory to make it 1-1.

Less than two minutes later, Oxnard pulled back on top drawing a penalty kick that they buried to make it 2-1. Citrus kept pushing through and evened the game back up three more minutes later in the 61st minute when Romo struck again, scoring in the exact same manner after another failed clearance by the Condors.

The two teams would trade chances back and forth for nearly the next 20 minutes until Oxnard took the lead back for good in the 78th minute via another picture perfect counter that made it 3-2.

With the loss, Citrus drops to 2-4-1 overall and 1-2 in WSC play. The Owls will take Friday off before returning to conference play again on Tuesday in Citrus Stadium against Moorpark College. Kick-off is set for 4:00 PM.