Cypress- The Cypress College men's soccer team (2-5-1, 0-1) lost their home opener to Golden West College (5-1-2, 1-0) in the first Orange Empire Conference game of the season on Tuesday afternoon.
The Chargers took an early lead on a penalty kick which resulted in a goal from Dragan Maksimovic (6:39) to go up 1-0. Cypress dominated possession most of the first half in a physical game with the Rustlers. The Chargers kept their 1-0 lead heading into halftime.
Golden West entered the second half with a goalie change that proved to be beneficial. Rustlers Keeper Johnny Garcia had five saves that all came in the second half to keep his team within striking distance. The physical play continued and in the 61st minute Chargers defender Omar Martinez was shown the game's first red card, giving Golden West the advantage. Cypress held their ground defensively until the 79th minute when an Adrian Montes header assisted by Mark Hernandez tied the game 1-1. The equalizer was shortly followed by a Jorge Pineda goal (80:24) to give the Rustlers the lead.
The Chargers were unable to make a late run and would lose the game 2-1. Cypress will look to bounce back when they travel to Santa Ana College on Friday, October 2nd at 3:00 pm.
