Men's Soccer Earns Tie In Final Minutes

The MiraCosta men's soccer team traveled to San Diego Mesa College to play under the lights.  A 7pm kickoff brought excitement to the field.  The Spartans start well, connecting passes and establishing a rhythm, but an early miscue along the back line led to a first goal for the Olympians in the 7th minute.  The Spartans battled back and reestablished rhythm with solid play from captain Raul Guzman and  Miguel Aguilera. This led to some exciting opportunities for Cheyne Hausmaninger and Yan Guimaraes Pereira De Moraes. Moraes almost converted a free kick from 25 yards out, but an acrobatic save from the goal keeper prevented the goal.  Several minutes later the Spartans had another near goal by Raul Guzman. A third opportunity presented itself at the 31st minute for Moraes with a free kick that was stopped.

MiraCosta traded chances with Mesa until halftime.  At the beginning of the second half a Mesa player was fouled just inside the midfield line.  The resulting free kick sailed high and was headed into the box, then shot into the back of the net to put Mesa up 2-0. 

Down 2-0 the Spartans regrouped and continued to compete. In the 78th minute, Juan Carlos Velasco entered the match as a second target forward which led to a clear turn in momemtum for the Spartans.  The combination of Velasco and Hausmaninger applied pressure on the Mesa back line. Eventually, after multiple touches in Mesa's penalty box, the Spartans scored their first goal by defender Emilio Bunnell Vasquez. He blasted a shot to the opposite corner of the goal from 22 yards out in the 88th minute.  After the Mesa kickoff, and with just minutes remaining in the game, Spartan pressure resulted in a scramble in front of the Mesa goal.  Emilio Bunnell Vasquez made a short pass to Miguel Aguilera who sloted the game tying goal pas the keeper at the near post.  Two minutes later the game was over and the Spartans earned the important result to open conference play.