COD (0-0-1) opened up the 2017 Men's Soccer season with a draw against the Moorpark Raiders (0-0-1), as sophomore midfielder Jesus Murillo Perez (Thermal Coachella Valley) converted a penalty kick attempt in the 78th minute.

Both teams fought to a halftime scoreless draw, as both starting keepers played brilliantly throughout the first half. Starting Roadrunners keeper, freshman Michael Cruz (Thermal Desert Mirage) had made four huge saves to preserve the clean sheet.

Then in the 52nd minute, the Raiders broke through the midfield and lobbed a shot towards the net, where a diving Moorpark forward headed the ball into the lower right corner of the net, giving Moorpark a 1-0 lead. In the 64th minute, Roadrunners head coach Enrique Cardenas made a goalie substitution, putting in freshman Jorge Cañedo (Palm Springs H.S.) to hold off the Raiders onslaught.

In the 76th minute, that goalie change proved to be a game changer as Cañedo faced his first penalty kick of 2017 and guessed correctly, as he dove to his lower right, punching the shot away and then curled back in time to poke away a second Moorpark shot off the redirect.

In the 78th minute, Murillo Perez was given the opportunity to equalize on a penalty kick and he did so, as he poked a shot into the lower right hand corner of the net to tie up the game. The game would end in a 1-1 draw.

Photo by Michael Leone Photography (f8leone@yahoo.com)
Information, Photos & Story provided by COD Sports Information.