PJC soccer teams sweep weekend, season end nears
Published or Revised October 16, 2015
A few of the PJC soccer players who shone during the Oct. 9 weekend’s games include Lavrick Mulla (top), Telisa Jones (center) and Omar Khan (bottom).
Last weekend brought all wins to the Paris Junior College women's and men's soccer teams. The men played San Jacinto College on Oct. 9, and both teams played Murray State College on Oct. 11.
Friday the men had a tough challenge against a San Jacinto College team second in conference with a (6-3-1) (4-1) record that has been receiving national ranking votes. San Jacinto came out strong in the first half, able to capitalize on two scoring opportunities to make it 0-2 at half-time. The Dragons created several great chances in the first half but were unable to finish.
In the second half, it didn’t take long for the PJC men's soccer team to get on the scoresheet. Miguel Reyes scored a phenomenal goal, 18 yards out, from a Cyrus Gakuo pass. The Dragons continued to dominate the second half, creating many goal scoring opportunities and keeping a great San Jacinto attacking team in their own end. In the 67th minute, Omar Khan found the equalizer in front of goal after a rebound header from Jordan LeClair to make it 2-2. The regular game ended tied 2-2.
Goal Keeper Matt Garza (Freshman, McKinney, TX) kept the Dragons in the game by making his best save of the season in the first few minutes of overtime. Soon after Lavrick Mulla found Khan for a great combination. Khan was fouled by San Jacinto's defender in the box, resulting in a penalty kick. Miguel Reyes converted the penalty kick to give the Dragons the game winning goal. Reyes has converted 5 for 5 penalty kicks this season and has eight total goals.
Sunday both the women and men faced Murray State College in Oklahoma for non-conference matches in windy conditions and a rough playing surface.
The Lady Dragons came out hard the first half, keeping possession and pressuring Murray State’s defense. Mackinsie Yancey scored from a Diana Soto cross in the 21st minute. Murray State scored in the 35th minute. Telisa Jones took a shot, hitting off the top of the crossbar to Daniela Varela, who headed the ball into the goal in the 42nd minute.
The Lady Dragons held strong, kept possession and worked hard as a team to keep the lead over Murray State, winning 2-1.
The Dragons went into half time of their game at 0-0. In the second half, Murray State quickly went up 1-0 with a penalty kick call.
The Dragons answered quickly in the 55th minute with a goal by Khan, assisted by LeClair. The game remained tied 1-1 at the end of the second half. It didn’t take long for the Dragons to find the game winner in overtime. Mulla found the back of the net in the first minute, assisted by Khan. In addition to the goal scorers, freshmen Christian Castillo and Leonel Gutierrez made the most of their opportunities and both had outstanding performances.
The Dragons are now 8-6 overall with a 5-4 conference record, currently sitting in fourth place in the conference. The Lady Dragons are 4-10 overall and 1-5 in conference. Both teams will face Tyler Junior College in Tyler on Friday, October 16th at 5 and 7 p.m.
