Cougars Pick up 3 Points at Home

The Cougars set out to earn redemption against College of the Siskiyous after a less than stellar performance in their first home match against Butte the week prior. Siskiyous opened the scoring but Lassen striker, Darius Passley-Bennett, followed up with a quick response to tie the game at 1-1. Lassen went on to edge out the visiting Eagles, 4-3, to move to 1-3 in the Golden Valley Conference.

Assisted by goalkeeper Methembe Ncube, Darius slalomed through the defense and beyond the Siskiyous goalkeeper. Staying composed, he took a touch and slotted the ball home. The two teams went into the break level at 1-1.

There was an explosion of goals in the second half, with Siskiyous pulling ahead by two after a few missed clearances and a potential offside. Lassen stayed resilient, getting up from the knockdowns and punching back to level the score 3-3 within a few minutes. Captain Webster Ruiter stepped up to calmly finish a penalty kick, followed by an offensive corner kick that was bundled in on the rebound by Harry Mcilhone.

The Cougars did not relent and carried on their momentum. Methembe Ncube delivered his second assist of the match to Kevin Willian, who scored the breakaway by going to the goalkeeper's near post, and take a 4-3 lead as the testy affair was nearing the final whistle. Keeping numbers back and adding an extra defensive midfielder, Lassen was able to protect their lead and manage the game clock in the final stages of the match.

"I'm so proud of the guys, to overturn a deficit like that has been one of our season objectives," said Head Coach Imaan Kerchgani. "Today we showed the heart, enthusiasm, and effort needed to pick up the three points."