Men's Soccer Survives Heat And Hancock, 2-0

Despite 102-degree heat and an 80-minute delay to the start of the game, The Pasadena City College men's soccer team kept up its fast-paced tempo throughout Friday's 2-0 victory over Allan Hancock at Robinson Stadium.

The Lancers (3-2) took a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute when Mario Urbina got loose and sent a short cross to a wide-open Andres Velasquez for a short-range goal. 

From that point on, PCC pressed Hancock but the Bulldogs (1-4) and their defenders constantly broke up opportunities. In the 52nd minute, Hancock nearly tied it when Jose Orozco ripped a shot in the box that Lancers goalie Brian Espinoza got a hand on to deflect out of play. Right after that, Jason Bautista made a slide tackle play that prevented a potential goal right at the center in front of the goalie box. 

In the 73rd minute, Christian Ibarra went on a breakaway and then dropped a pass to Urbina on the right side of the 5-yard line as Urbina blasted in the insurance goal.

Hancock tried to comeback but were thwarted on a breakaway stop by Espinoza in the 76th minute and then moments later Nikolai Glass headed an attempt from a corner kick that hit the crossbar. 

The Lancers outshot Hancock, 18-10, including a 9-1 advantage in the first half. 

"The heat delay was definitely something we had to deal with," said PCC head coach Gerry Mora. "In the first half, we did not exploit the time and space they gave us. It was good showing from our freshmen to create an opportunity in scoring our first goal. Kevin Huertos had a great performance by being aggressive going forward. We were able to get them on the counter attack on the second goal. It was big game for Urbina to get a goal and an assist. Espinoza did a nice job defending our goal."

On Sept. 6, the Lancers had some uncharacterstic defensive breakdowns and lost at Cuyamaca, 6-2. Emmanuel Becerra and Urbina scored the Lancers goals.

PCC returns to the field to play at state #13-ranked Norco on Tuesday, Sept. 17 (4 p.m.), then play on the road at #3 Oxnard on Friday, Sept. 20 at 2 p.m.