VENTURA - Two netters compliments of Golden West College's Cris Perdomo sealed the deal for the Rustlers as they defeated the Fresno City College Rams, 2-0, to advance to the 2018 California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Men's Soccer Championships on Sunday.
It was a chippy affair early on and the brutal pace continued throughout the duration of the contest as seen in 10 yellow cards between both squads. Despite the Rams outshooting the Rustlers, 11-9, it was Golden West which took advantage with two scores in the first half within a matter of eight minutes.
Perdomo's first score came in the 31st minute to put the Rustlers on top. 1-0. The score came off of a rebound from an initial shot from Alan Samano on a free kick. Samano's kick bounced off of the Fresno goalkeeper's hands and landed at the feet of Perdomo. He promptly punched the ball in the direct center of the goal.
Perdomo wasted no time putting Golden West up by two scores as he quickly followed with his second netter on a counter in the 38th minute. He gathered a free ball on the near side of the pitch and poked it over two defenders and caught the Fresno goalkeeper off of the line with his inside foot. That was all the Rustlers needed to haul in the victory.
Jose Vega earned his third victory in the cage after racking up six saves in 90 minutes of action.
Fresno City did not go down without a fight as seven of the Ram's 11 shots came in the second half, but to no prevail. Yoni Salais paced the Rams with two shots on goal. Gama picked up the loss after reeling in four saves.
Golden West will face the winner of Friday's other semifinal between City College of San Francisco and Cerritos College. Sunday's championship is set for 10 a.m.