On "ALE Night," at PCC's Robinson Stadium Friday night, the state #10 Pasadena City College men's soccer team gave many fans attending from the Association of Latino Employees much to cheer about. The Lancers poured it on with three goals in the final 13 minutes to close out a 5-0 blanking over LA Pierce.
Pasadena continues its best start since the 2002 season as its undefeated streak stands at eight games--5-0-3.
The Lancers scored all the offense it would need in the ninth minute as Evin Laverreda made a set piece off a corner kick to Junior Martinez Cortes, who ripped a shot off the right post. Jeremiah Alomo cashed in on the rebound for a 1-0 lead.
Despite a red card early in the second half that forced Pierce to play with 10 players, the winless Brahmas (0-4) tried to keep PCC's offense at bay. Julian Zuniga hit the crossbar on a penalty kick resulting from the red card. But in the 56th minute, Cortes blasted a free kick from the 12-yard line into the right corner of the net for a 2-0 advantage.
In the 78th minute, Jouseph Contreras took a pass from Ronald Garcia and lined in another corner shot from the 11-yard line, then two minutes later Cristian Villegas rifled in a free kick to the delight of the fans. With five minutes left, David Canales hit a long-range bomb on an assist by Contreras to seal the rout.
The five goals were the most by a Lancers team in two years when they downed Imperial Valley, 9-0, on Sept. 22, 2023.
PCC head coach Francisco Cantero said, "Our shot taking and finishing on our opportunities were as good as it's been all season. It was fun to see a nice crowd see us play under the lights and that we performed at a high level. The team's confidence continues to build and we just need to continue to put pressure on our opponents."
On Sept. 16, the Lancers settled for a 2-2 tie at Santa Barbara City College. In what is likely a first, PCC had two different goalies make saves on penalty kicks as starting goalie Leo Mendoza made a stop just before halftime and reserve Matthew Gilmore stopped a PK in the 70th minute.
PCC took a 1-0 lead at the 12-minute mark when Solemon Alveno-Donofrio knocked in a rebound off a shot by Villegas. At the 60th minute, the Lancers went ahead again at 2-1 as Zuniga took a pass from Villegas and lifted it into the left corner of the net.
Unfortunately for the Lancers, SBCC's Diego Gonzalez scored on a deflection during the final minute to secure the tie for the Vaqueros.
PCC is #5 in the power points ratings for South Region team, a system that decides seedings for the 2025 postseason.
Zuniga leads the team in scoring with five goals/two assists for 12 points.
Pasadena returns to the pitch on Friday, Sept. 26 in a 6 p.m. game at College of the Canyons.
