Cougars Suffer Defeat on the Road
The Lassen men's soccer team dropped points, losing 4-0 on the road against a talented and well-managed Butte College in Oroville, CA on Friday, September 24.
The Cougars were faced with a difficult matchup in their conference opener. Butte College (4-2-1), came out and dominated the beginning stages of the match.
As the first half progressed, Lassen gained in confidence and started possessing the ball through the midfield creating chances on goal. Just before the stroke of half time, Mael Graf struck a wondrous left-footed free kick that hit the upper right side of the goal post, keeping the match at a stalemate going into the half.
With a 0-0 result at the start of the second half, the Cougars came out with a greater sense of urgency and generated sustained pressure against the back line of Butte College.
In the 60th minute, the Cougars gave away a penalty kick inside the box that Butte was able to capitalize on, granting them a 1-0 lead.
As Butte grew in confidence, they quickly scored another goal in the 70th minute, which propelled their team further as the match grew to a close. Butte College would go on to score two more goals before ending the game on top and holding Lassen scoreless.
"It was a difficult match against a good team," said Head Coach Alex Machin, "It's never good to start conference play with a loss. We played a very strong Butte College. We competed and held them until half, but we fell short from scoring. Now we have to regroup, learn from in, and continue our season. I am sure the boys will come out of this stronger."
The Cougars will face the Pirates of Modesto College in Modesto, CA on Tuesday, September 28 at 4 pm.