Photo Courtesy of SC Athletics
THE SHIRT OFF YOUR BACK—Southwestern’s Samuel Gonzalez battles his Orange Coast College defender during a late-season match. (below) Christopher Villaseñor evades a defender.
By Victor Meza
There will be no storybook finish for the men’s soccer team or its celebrated coach Cem Tont.
A season-ending losing streak derailed a promising start and dashed playoff hopes. It also marks the end of Tont’s celebrated coaching career at Southwestern College as the veteran manager has announced his retirement.
The Jaguars picked a bad time to cool off as the back end of the season was primarily conference games. A conference record of 2-4-2 left them five wins behind conference champs Cuyamaca College.
Players knew they could not afford to lose another game before squaring off against Mesa College. A controversial goal in the 10th minute of the first half shook the Jaguars out of their inspired pre-game vibe. A shot hit the pole and bounced almost straight down. Jaguar players argued the ball bounced outside the goal, but the referee disagreed and whistled a score.
Southwestern never answered and lost, 1-0.
Three days later Cuyamaca buried all the playoff hopes with a 2-0 win.
A Southwestern foul 17 minutes into the second half was the turning point. The referee called a penalty kick for Cuyamaca that forward Esteban Salas drilled home. Tensions escalated after the call, leading to Tont and Cuyamaca coach Hyatt-Aleu arguing on the field.
Players lost focus and lost the game.
“Once we got the penalty we lost our heads,” said forward Christopher Villaseñor. “That did not help.”
At 70 minutes Cuyamaca’s Salas scored again and the ebulliant forward did a backflip as his team rejoiced over the conference clincher.
After the match Tont was philosophical.
“It might be good experience,” he said. “The freshman players now understand the competitive level of college soccer. It took them awhile to understand the pace and mentality. This may help them come back stronger next year.”
