Glendora, CA (Men’s Soccer) – After upsetting 1st place Oxnard on Tuesday, the Fighting Owls had yet another top conference team in their sights when LA Mission came calling on Friday afternoon. The Fighting Owls played well on the day out-shooting Mission 12-10, but an early goal by Mission put the Owls in a hole they couldn’t climb out of as they lost 0-1.
In the first half, the Owls came out of the gate with an aggressive mind set earning a corner kick in the first minute and half. Citrus would continue to push the tempo, but an offside call in the fifth minute would prove to be the turning point of the young half. With the ball back in their possession Mission made its move, as they gained a three on one advantage deep into Citrus territory. Rene Alvarenga took an Oscar Garcia pass, settled the ball and buried it into the bottom right hand corner of the net past goalie Felix Andrez to give Mission a 1-0 lead.
In the second half it was the Owls who were once again the offensive aggressor earning five corner kicks to Mission’s one and out-shooting Mission six to five. Citrus had plenty of opportunities, but they were usually squandered by the impressive play of Mission goalie Irvin Rodriguez who recorded three of his four saves in the second half. The Owls’ best chance came in 84th minute. With yet another corner kick to their credit, Citrus put the ball in to the goalie’s box where Citrus’ leading scorer Eddie Gutierrez found the ball at his feet with a wide open net. Guiterrez fired a shot, but it went high over the net, giving the ball back to Mission.
With the loss, the Fighting Owls fall to 7-5-5 overall and 3-3-2 in WSC play. Citrus will be back at Citrus Stadium for their final home game of their current three game home stand on Tuesday for another conference match-up with Santa Barbara City College. The Fighting Owls lost to SBCC in their first meeting of the year 0-3 Game time is set for 1:00 PM.
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