Oxnard Men's Soccer opens with win over State Finalist
August 23—Oxnard, CA
The Golden West Rustlers came into the Condor's Nest to open the 2019-20 campaign, after finishing second in the state last year.
They looked the part of a high-powered team, with nearly 50 players, and returning half of their squad.
The Rustlers came to play as Wilbert Loredo-Suarez netted a free kick just two minutes into the contest. Six minutes later, the Condors looked to be in trouble as GW center-back Ricky Briseno headed in a goal to make it 2-0 in favor of Golden West.
Oxnard steadied themselves later in the first half. Freshman Isaac Perez took a pass from Gustavo Martinez to bring OC back to a 2-1 count.
Early in the second half, Erik Lopez netted his first goal of the young season, to pull the Condors level at 2-2.
OC kept applying pressure and David Garcia gave Oxnard their first lead on an assist by Carlos Gomez, at the 76:00 minute mark.
Gomez then scored the clincher in front of the Golden West net with the game coming to full time.
The 4-2 win gives Oxnard momentum heading into an incredibly difficult pre-conference schedule that includes state-champion Cerritos College, among other top-ten teams in the state.