MEN'S SOCCER CLOSES HARTNELL TOURNEY WITH LOSS TO AMERICAN RIVER; HOSTS BULLDOG CLASSIC THIS WEEKEND

SALINAS-- The AHC men's soccer team closed the Hartnell Tournament with a 2-1 loss to American River College of Sacramento and will host its' own eight-team competition this coming weekend.

Hancock (0-3-0) came away winless in the three-day event at Hartnell, but head coach Al Garcia was encouraged by his team's progress nonetheless.

"We got ourselves straightened out defensively in the final game," said Garcia. "I was pleased with our positioning and our overall effort on the field. If a couple of calls go the other way, we very well could have beaten America River."

Hancock scored first in the 18th minute on a goal by Jose Villalba (Fr., Santa Maria), assisted by Alex Lomeli (Fr., Righetti). American River evened the score on a penalty kick in the 28th minute, then scored the decided against a Bulldog team playing a man down in the 74th minute.

In its' second Hartnell Tourney match played on Saturday, AHC dropped a 3-1 decision to Canada College of Redwood City. Hancock trailed Colts, 1-0 at halftime, but tied it in the 54th minute on a goal by Juan Leon (Fr., Arroyo Grande), assisted by Matt McDonald (So., Lompoc). Canada broke the tie with a goal in the 65th minute, then iced the match with a third goal in the 70th minute.

Hancock will continue the non-conference portion of its 2006 schedule this coming weekend, when it hosts the Bulldog Soccer Classic, an eight-team, three-day affair that kicks off Friday at 3 p.m. on the campus field. Along with the Bulldogs the participating teams will include Lassen, West Hills, Victor Valley, Santa Barbara, College of the Desert, Taft and Rio Hondo.