Soccer — the Beautiful Game — looks even better when you are winning. Southwestern’s pitch has been a lovely place recently.
Head Coach Cem Tont’s Jaguars roared home with their sixth victory by whipping Moorpark College, 3-2, in a come-from-behind victory.
Moorpark College had the Jags on the ropes with a 2-0 first half lead.
It did not last.
In the 46th minute SWC striker Marco Carrillo-Leon capped a beautifully structured counter-attack with SWC’s first goal.
Carrillo-Leon was not done. He netted a long-shot goal to tie the game.
As the clock ran down forward Omar Hernandez ran in and smoked a left footer for the 3-2 victory.
“I was a little bit nervous because this is my first game,” said defender Andre Diaz, “but the result was good.”
“Good” was good enough for a 3-1 win against Cypress College. SWC fell behind in the second minute of the game and endured a jittery 34 minutes before striker Nico Ferrero fired the ball into the bottom left corner of the net. Carrillo-Leon stunned Cypress one minute later with the go-ahead goal. Ferrero sealed the 3-1 win with a goal in the 61st minute.
“We try to prepare for what we do best and have the guys perform,” said former assistant Sergio Vilalva. “In soccer, the game is the best teacher.”
Even in the almost unbearable heat, striker Carrillo-Leon kept his cool against the Norco Mustangs.
Carrillo-Leon scored the opening goal in the 9th minute and then scored three more in a 6-2 thrashing.
“Besides being physically and emotionally prepared, I try to prepare mentally and have a focused mind before I play,” said Carrillo-Leon.
SWC took on the Palomar College Comets in a battle of wits. Carrillo-Leon proved the most witty. He fired the ball to the back of rival net on the 9th minute and another on the 61st. Less than a minute later he had a hat trick.
Ferrero scored in the 72nd minute to cap a dominating 4-0 win.
A tough squad from San Bernardino gave the Jags all they could handle.
Trailing the first half by two goals, the SWC squad rallied for a 2-2 draw against the Wolverines.
At the Mount SAC Tournament the Jags faced the defending and Northern California State champs, Mount San Antonio College.
SWC won the first game of the tournament against third ranked Taft in a 1-0 victory. Mt SAC though, was ready for the tired SWC crew and romped to a 5-0 win.
“What we have here is two different pictures,” said Tont. “In one we have a fantastic performance and in the other one we were clearly outplayed.”
With a 6-3-1 record, the Jaguars are in playoff contention. Tont said his team is talented but needs to keep improving.
“We have to improve the momentum of the game,” he said. “That is the challenge we are going to see in the next month.”