Esparza’s Late Goal Leads to Tie for Owls

Glendora, CA -- Citrus College freshman Angel Esparza lifted a beauty of a corner kick with seconds left in stoppage time in the second half of Citrus' home contest with Norco College on Friday afternoon. The kick curled and curled and sailed over the head of every defender and Owl player and found the back right corner of the net, giving the Owls a late 2-2 tie against the visiting Mustangs.

In the first half, the two teams traded jabs with each taking four shots. Unfortunately for Citrus, none found their way on goal, while Norco had one on frame, but freshman keeper Antonio Tomatani saved that lone shot on goal by the Mustangs.

In the second half the pace picked up as the two teams nearly doubled their shot output from the first half. Norco was the first team to take advantage of the quickened pace as they took a 1-0 lead in the 51st minute. The Mustangs weren't done though, as a goal by Norco in the 68th minute, put the Owls in the hole deep 2-0.

Still Citrus didn't give up, and it was a never give up play that put the Owls back in contention. Freshman Kelley Collins pressured the Norco keeper late on a simple pass back, but the keeper flustered by Collins' pressure turned the ball over to him with no one in between him and the back of the net. It didn't take much effort and Collins made the most of it notching his first goal of the year in the 74th minute.

The Owls kept the pressure up and that would pay off late, real late. Citrus would take a total of five corner kicks throughout the course of the second half, compared to just one for Norco. None of the previous four were more important than the one taken over three minutes into stoppage time at the end of the second half. That's when Esparza worked his magic, planting the ball in the back of the net, and giving Citrus their first non-loss of the year.

With the tie, Citrus moves to 0-3-1 on the season. Friday's match marks the conclusion of Citrus' non-conference schedule as the Owls will dive into their Western State Conference stretch beginning on Tuesday when they travel to Glendale College for a 7:00 PM kick-off.