MiraCosta Secures Victory Over Rival Palomar

With a 2-1 victory on Friday night, the Spartan men's soccer team wins the cross-town rivalry and secures their chances at winning the conference. With the win, MiraCosta's record against Palomar during Coach Frank Zimmerman's tenure improves to 15-4-3.

The Comets struck first, scoring in the 2th minute.  The Spartans trailed 0-1 at the halftime break despite having kept possession of the ball for the majority of the time. 

The second half was a change of speed for MiraCosta, with a renewed drive and energy. There were scoring opportunities from Alexis Aparicio and Luke Adomey. The Spartans agressively attacked and kept hte pressure on. The development from the defense and the midfielders finding the wingers created numerous chances.

The Spartans first goal was in the 70th minute and was scored by Jose Mondragon, and assisted by Juan Manuel Serrano. The goal came off of a corner kick, after a deflection inside the box. Mondragon finished the goal with force, evening the score at 1-1. The game winning goal was in the 90th minute and was scored by Rudy Padilla. Alexis Aparicio assisted Padilla by crossing a pass that ended with the header in the back of the net. 

With the win the Spartans improve to 5-2-1 in conference play and currently are in second place in the PCAC standings.  MiraCosta is 5-1 in their last six games and appear to be peaking at the right time.

The Spartans play on the road Tuesday, October 31st at Mesa College and their next home game is on November 7.