Hancock 2-0 in WSC after 6-2 win

GLENDORA — It didn't figure that Citrus College would give the Hancock men's soccer team a strong challenge, and the Owls didn't.

"They just really aren't a very strong team," Hancock coach Al Garcia said after the Bulldogs rolled to a 6-2 victory Tuesday that pushed their Western State Conference mark to 2-0 and their overall record to 8-3-3.

Garcia figures his crew will get a much bigger test when the Bulldogs entertain Santa Barbara at 2 p.m. Friday. The Vaqueros are tied for fifth with Rio Hondo in the rankings among Southern California junior colleges. The Bulldogs are rated 11th.

"It ought to be a hell of a match," said Garcia. "If we can win this one, I predict we'll win the conference.

"We'll need 90 minutes of intensity, not like we had (Tuesday)," said Garcia. "We're going to have to play a hell of a lot more intense. The teams are very evenly matched and well-balanced. What I'm really looking forward to is, I think Santa Barbara can push us to the level we're capable of."

The Bulldogs' level of play was more than enough to get them past the Owls. Hancock's Zac Viker opened the scoring when he took a pass from Martin Burgos and put one past the Citrus goalie 20 minutes into the game.

Then Citrus scored on a free kick.

"That was a ridiculous call, a questionable call on our goalie," said Garcia.

After the Owls had knotted the game at 1-1, freshman Isaac Torres, the Bulldogs' leading scorer with 19 goals on the year, put the Bulldogs ahead for good.

"Their defense was so sloppy, they didn't know what to do with the ball," Garcia said. "So (Torres) just kicked the ball out over the goalie's head."

Hancock led 2-1 at halftime.

The Bulldogs broke things open in the second half. Burgos was fouled in the 62nd minute of the game, and Juan Ayala made good on the penalty kick for his first goal of the season to make it 3-1.

Torres scored his second of the game in the 75th minute from 30 yards away.

In the 82nd minute, Citrus scored on a defensive lapse, but the Bulldogs salted away the win moments later. John Roth broke free in the 85th minute, and his crossing pass connected with Jose Urbano, who put the ball in for his first goal of the year. With two minutes to play, Chris Nunez wrapped up the scoring by putting in a penalty kick.

"Overall, I was really pleased with the way we played," Garcia said. "They scored both their goals on our breakdowns. Really, we dominated 90 percent of the game."

After the Bulldogs play at home against the Vaqueros on Friday, Hancock will travel to Glendale on Tuesday before hosting three three consecutive games—Oct. 20 against Moorpark College, Oct. 24 against Oxnard, and Oct. 27 against Citrus. All of those games start at 4 p.m.