“They don’t have the killer instinct, they can’t impose their will on their opponent,” the 21-year veteran coach said of his team, which dropped to 1-6-2 on the season with the loss. “They are letting the opponent dictate the game to them. The things we do in practice, they don’t put into the game and it’s very, very disappointing and frustrating.”
Frustration built on the field as well, as Glendale college attempted seven corner kicks and launched 14 shots in the second half to no avail.
Moorpark goalkeeper Andy Munoz (15 saves) made several spectacular stops during the Vaqueros’ second-half assault on the goal. He tallied 11 saves in the half.
In the scrappy final 10 minutes, there were three red-card ejections resulting from fouls and altercations, two of which were issued to Vaqueros.
“If they put a team away early, there’s no frustration that comes in and no red cards,” said Vaqueros co-Coach Laura Matsumoto.
Trailing 1-0, Moorpark tied the game in the 14th minute of play on a shot by Nikolay Ptchelarov.
While Ptchelarov’s shot was stopped easily near the goal, the Vaqueros goalkeeper mishandled the ball while attempting to scoop it up and it rolled into the back of the goal.
Nineteen minutes later, the Raiders (2-5, 0-1) took a lead they would never relinquish on a penalty kick set up by a foul in the goalbox and converted by Micehell Vigueras.
“We beat ourselves,” Matsumoto said. “[The Raiders] did their job because they finished the match, but we gave away stupid goals.”
Glendale college’s lone goal came on a corner set, in which Tony Correas’ inbound kick was flipped off the back of teammate Artin Saginian’s foot and was punched in by Hakopian inches from the goal.
