Ducks sweep Mountain View

Before the season started, both the men's and women's soccer teams were asked which conference team would present the toughest challenge.  The answer was unanimous:  Mountain View College.

On Sept. 27, the teams met at Mountain View for the first matchup of the season.  The women's team needed extra time to defeat the Lions 2-1; the men needed only five minutes to seal a victory.

Forward Malin Qvarnstrom struck first for the Lady Thunderducks (7-1-2) in the opening half.  After outmuscling and fighting off her defender, Qvarnstrom finished with her left foot to beat the diving goalkeeper.

"She just outworks everybody and scores goals that way," said head coach Scott Toups.  "A lot of times it's not real pretty, but that's just how she plays."

Qvarnstrom has scored a team-high seven goals on the season to go along with nine assists but refuses to get caught up in her personal achievements.

"Our whole team is playing well," said Qvarnstrom.  "It's not one player.  We play as a team."

Mountain View had a golden opportunity in extra time when a free kick from just outside of the box caught the keeper off guard, hitting the right-post before being cleared.

After applying constant pressure on the Lions' defense, the Lady Thunderducks took advantage of their best scoring opportunity. Freshman defender Lindsay Gable played a ball across the box, finding sophomore midfielder Dani Fellows.  Fellows' one-touch volley beat the Lions' goalkeeper, who was battling the sun as she attempted to make the save.

"It's not a goal that's going to go in every time," said Toups.  "But sometimes you get lucky."

The men (4-2-1) got off to a fast start when Francisco DeAnda converted a penalty kick in the fifth minute.  On the play, Lions' goalkeeper Eduardo Macias committed a reckless challenge inside the box, prompting a call by the referee. 

DeAnda calmly struck a low shot past a stretching keeper to collect his first of two goals.

Minutes later, forward Victor Pinal got behind the Lions' defense, beating a charging keeper with a right-footed shot to the far post.  Pinal would add two more goals in the first half. 

On a free kick just outside of the 18-yard box, the freshman played a low shot, which took a deflection off the wall before finding the back of the net just before halftime.  The     Thunderducks took a 5-0 advantage into halftime.

"Every game I go into, I don't know what to expect," said head coach Sean Worley. "That is probably the first time we've been up 5-0 at half in a long time."

Pinal, who added his fourth goal in the second half to push the lead to 6-0, was quick to credit his team for the performance.

"Personally, I don't really care about me," said Pinal.  "I just care about how the team played.  The team played well, and thankfully I was able to score."

In the final minutes of the game, Lions' forward Tolliver Enoh converted a late chance to spoil the shutout and push the score to 6-1.

After a blatant take-down was missed inside the penalty area at the other end, the Lions pressed the ball forward to a sprinting Enoh, who beat back-up keeper Hector Gonzalez.

"We want perfection, and you can never be happy," said Worley.

But the coach was quick to praise the play of his team in such a critical match. "It was a fun game.  We scored a lot of goals.  The guys played good, played hard."

With the victories, both teams sit atop the Metro Athletic Conference standings.  The women continue conference play with games scheduled against Cedar Valley College Sept. 30 and Eastfield College today (Oct. 4). 

The men were scheduled to host Otero Junior College (Colo.) Oct. 1 before hosting Hill College in MAC play today.