Glendale’s men’s soccer team took the field Tuesday afternoon against the Irvine Valley Lasers, coming into the game with a 3-4 record after losing 3-1 to Santa Ana.
Coach Joe Agoston’s squad began on the wrong foot, when freshman Daniel Racchumi received a yellow card for interfering with Laser Goal Keeper Brandon Shaver. GCC struggled early missing three opportunities to score within the first 12 minutes of play.
That changed in the 17th minute when forward Jose Lopez scored the first goal of the game and he was not done. He later scored in the 58th and 69th minute of the game giving him the hat trick. The Vaqueros won 3-1.
When asked about the hat trick, Lopez said “we all played well today, I was just lucky to be in the right spots at the right time.”
The offense also had at a little help from freshman Kyle Lupany, who throughout the game gave the Vaqueros great scoring opportunities with his long centering throw-ins.
“We played well in the first half, but we are not a second-half team yet,” said Agoston. “We got lazy and it showed. We have a tough schedule ahead of us, and I think if we take everything day by day we will be in contention late in the season.”
The Vaqueros open up WSC play against the Vaqueros of Santa Barbara City College today 1 p.m. at the Fern Glen Sports Complex.