On a beautiful Friday afternoon in Oceanside, California the MiraCosta men's soccer team hosted Norco College for a non-conference match. The Mustangs entered the match 4-3 with wins against Palomar and East LA College. The Spartans entered the match having played one of the most difficult schedules in the state. MiraCosta has shown signs of starting to come together but clearly still has room for growth which the fans saw in the game versus Norco.
MiraCosta dominated for 90 minutes and earned a 2-0 win over the Mustangs. From the first whistle the Spartans controlled possession of the ball but also created numerous opportunities to score while on the offensive attack. In the 37th minute forward Lucca Mina made a strong run that ended in the defender pulling his jersey. This foul, in the box, led to a penalty kick that was scored by Julio Costa. The Spartans took the 1-0 lead into the halftime break.
In the 50th minute freshman Pedro Mercado scored his second goal in three games, giving the Spartans a two goal lead.
MiraCosta's constant pressure on the Mustang defense was evident with a total of 18 shots on goal. In addition to the ball control and the offensive attacks the Spartan defense was stellar. Seth Ketterer, Manuell Kariuki, Fernando Martinez and Marley Areola made it difficult for Norco to get a quality attempt on the goal. Ketterer had only one save in the shutout, a credit to the ten men that played in front of him.
MiraCosta is next in action on Tuesday at 1PM at home as they open their conference schedule against San Diego Mesa College.