STERLING, CO – The Laramie County Community College men's soccer team finished off a 2-0 weekend in Colorado with a tight 3-2 win over Northeastern Junior College on Saturday afternoon, spurred on by a second straight two goal performance from sophomore Azael Marrufo to improve to 4-1-1 in Region IX action.
The after a lightning delay, the Golden Eagles were paced in the opening half by a pair of goals to jump out to an advantage, including one from Azael Marrufo in the 27th minute and another from Jonathan Sanchez in the 41st minute to take a comfortable lead into the halftime break.
"It definitely did give us an edge going into the second half, but I think a 2-0 lead is kind of a curse more than anything because you get a little too comfortable and teams can counter, but over all we did well," Head Coach Fernando Perez said.
That rang true in the second half when in a stretch of three minutes NJC picked up a pair of goals to even the match at two all, but Perez added that he wasn't worried about how the final result would play out with the effort his team was giving.
"I always tell them, it doesn't matter if you are down or tied, if there is still time on the clock you play. Play your game and you will be successful, and you will get the result you want if you truly compete."
Marruffo was again the man on the spot when he was able to finish a rebound into the back of the net in the 69th minute which eventually would be the game winner.
It wasn't without a few anxious moments towards the end of the match when NJC had a penalty waved off because of an offsides call. The team was able to finish the win and now has 13 points in the Region IX standings as they search for an opening round bye.
"I think the guys are up for it and they see what we can do," Perez said. "We are taking six points home and next weekend we are get home field advantage to hopefully get the same result."
LCCC outshot the Plainsmen 16-13 in the game and put nine of their shots on goal.
In net, Adan Herrera made five saves on the eight shots on goal from NJC.
The Golden Eagles will be back in action this coming weekend with defending Region IX champion Otero College in town on Friday afternoon before celebrating sophomore day on Saturday against Trinidad State College. Both matches are set to kickoff at 1:00 pm and more information can be found online at www.golccc.com.