The Bigger They Are the Harder They Fall 

Glendora, CA (Men’s Soccer) – The Citrus College men’s soccer team continued its record setting season this afternoon, as they dropped 2nd place Santa Barbara City College 1-0. It’s the second Citrus win of the season against a top two team in conference. Over the past seven games Citrus is an impressive 5-1-1.

The first half featured a frenetic pace with 15 shots being fired off, and eight corner kicks being earned between both squads. Santa Barbara proved to be the aggressor out-shooting the Fighting Owls 9-6. Despite being out-shot Citrus came up just short on two of its six attempts.

Just 14 minutes into the game, Raul Del Rio sent a bullet that just barely missed the net and instead hit the crossbar. Two minutes late, Citrus was again left empty handed after a header by Chris Arteaga hit the crossbar yet again. Citrus Goalie Giovanni Marquez played well in the first frame recording six saves in the frantic fray that was the first half.

In the second half, the Fighting Owls found themselves on their heals for the first twenty minutes. The Vaqueros rattled off the first 11 shots of the second half, before the Owls would even get their turn.

As the clock rolled over to the 70th minute Citrus finally got their chance, when Israel Stahl found himself all alone on the right hand side. With only the goalie to beat, Stahl drew out the goal keeper, and sent a laser from 20 yards out, that found the back of the net to give Citrus a 1-0 lead. 

Despite being out-shot 28-10, including a 19-4 advantage in the second half, the Fighting Owls defense held strong over the final twenty minutes to give Citrus a 1-0 win over the Vaqueros. Marquez, who recorded six saves in the 1st half, recorded seven more over the final 45 minutes to finish with 13 saves for the day, the highest single game total of the season for any Citrus goalie.

With the win the Fighting Owls improve to 9-5-5 overall and 5-3-2 in conference play. Citrus will be back at home again tomorrow for another WSC showdown this time with Canyons College. In their first meeting of the year, the Owls pulled out a 1-0 win over the Cougars in Santa Clarita, CA. Game time is set for 2:00 PM.