Pasadena City College men's soccer team head coach Francisco Cantero knows something about beating state power Mt. San Antonio. Fourteen years ago, he did it as a player for the Lancers. On Saturday, he did it again as coach, directing his #15 seed squad to a monumental upset at #2 Mt. SAC, 4-2, in a Southern California Regional Round 2 game.
The Lancers ended two winless slumps v. the Mounties, winning for the first time since 2014 and winning at Mt. SAC for the first time in 20 years, a stretch of 17 straight games (0-15-2) without a triumph in Walnut. PCC had lost two previous games this season to Mt. SAC, outscored 7-0 in the two contests.
PCC also won with a backup goalie in the net after regular starter Rayshon Robert received a red card in the 40th minute. Axel Espinoza, who had not played since Sept. 10, entered for just his sixth game of the year. Espinoza made three saves and did not allow a goal over the final 50 minutes.
Pasadena (15-8 overall) advances to play at #10 seed Cuyamaca, a 2-1 winner over #7 Santa Monica, on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 2 p.m in a Round 3 playoff. Already 2-0 in this postseason, if the Lancers win, they would reach the regional finals on Saturday, Nov. 30 at either #11 Saddleback or hosting #19 MiraCosta. Only lower seeds remain on this side of the regional bracket with the Nos. 2,3,6 and 7 seeds all eliminated.
Against Mt. SAC, Andrew Perez gave PCC a 1-0 lead in the 15th minute on a shot inside the box. The Mounties tied it on a goal by Jon Jay Joseph just 10 minutes later. Angel Nolasco regained the Pasadena lead on a penalty kick goal as he drove his attempt into the right side of the net in the 30th minute. Mt. SAC knotted at 2-2 by halftime, scoring on a penalty kick by Allan Rosales.
With the teams playing tight late in the second half, the duo of Nolasco and Angel Ballesteros struck gold. Nolasco headed a pass to Ballesteros, who controlled the ball with a header to himself as he launched a drive from eight yards on the right side of the box for the game-winning goal and his team-leading 11th of the year with 10 minutes left.
The Lancers added an insurance goal in the 89th minute as Ballesteros made a great play in the box as he controlled it then set a drop pass for Alex Petrossians, who fired it in from the top of the box.
"As a player it was great to beat Mt. SAC, but this one was so much better, playing in the postseason and on the road," said a pleased Cantero. "I felt this group was riding on the momentum of our first round win. We were away in a majority of our non-conference games to make sure we were ready for road playoff game like this. The atmosphere was perfect as the guy were ready for everything thrown their way. The most impressive thing was to never go down v. a tough Mt. SAC team. We always went ahead and ultimately stayed out in front."
The Lancers are 9-5 on the road this season. The team's 15 victories overall are the most by a Lancers team since 2008 (15 that year).
Nolasco has been having a superb postseason, now with three goals and an assist. He had three goals in the regular season.