The Vaqueros soccer team finally added a win in their young season scoring the only goal in a game against Rio Hondo College at the Glendale Sports complex, Tuesday making them 1-2 in non-conference play.

The only goal came from Vaquero, Marcos Valdivia who kicked the ball as it was bouncing with three defenders surrounding him, the ball then took a hard bounce and found its way to the right of the goal leaving the Rio Hondo goalie frozen.

“All it takes is one goal to win,” said Vaqueros’ head coach Joe Agoston after the game. “After the goal we held out with our defense and got the win.”

The game started off with physical play and dominance in ball control by Rio Hondo.

Strong goaltending and swarming defense helped the Vaqueros survive the initial attack.

Rio Hondo had twice as many shots on goal in the first half and kept the ball moving against Glendale but unable to produce a goal. A shot late in the first half by Rio Hondo grazed the right post of the goal. The close call gave Glendale a sense of urgency and they played more in attack mode after that.

The game became physical as both teams became frustrated by the lack of rhythm on offense. Raul Sigaran received a yellow card after diving for a ball and knocking a Rio Hondo player over. Shortly after the player retaliated with the same move on Sigaran but no card or foul was given.
Despite the warning by the officials both teams continued rough play which ended up in a Rio Hondo yellow card.

The second half was dominated by Lenin Arias the, Vaqueros goaltender, who set up an invisible barrier taking in everything Rio Hondo kicked at him.

The goal in the second half gave the Vaqueros a boost in energy and they were able to hold onto the lead and win the game.

“A team could play 80 minutes perfectly but all the other team has to do is score once and they can lose the game,” Agoston said. “We played very well for a longer duration and that’s why we won.”

The first two games for the Vaqueros werena’t as successful as Tuesday’s game.

The first game of the season against Mt. SAC College, the Vaqueros lost 0-2 despite playing some of their best soccer but coming up short.
Last Friday the Vaqueros lost to L.A Harbor College 0-4.

Both games were road games but the team hasn’t lost any confidence from the two losses.

“If we play our game, I think we can beat anybody.” Agoston said.

Glendale starts WSC Conference matches on Friday against Citrus College on the road.

The next home game will be played Tuesday against the Oxnard college Pirates at 4 p.m. at the Glendale Sports complex.