COD (7-2-5; 5-0-5) played a fantastic game in the face of a Cuyamaca Coyotes of El Cajon (5-4-6; 4-2-4) offensive attack that took 26 shots, but a goal in the 3rd minute for the Roadrunners proved to be all that was needed in the win, 1-0.

The Roadrunners were looking to finally turn a corner in 2018 by hosting the Coyotes. First, by defeating the Coyotes in Palm Desert for the first time since 2010 and second, turning some of those earlier ties into wins, having tied Cuyamaca on September 14 in El Cajon, 2-2.

Desert would get onto the scoreboard first in the third minute, when sophomore forward Luis Gastelum (Rancho Mirage H.S.) and freshman midfielder Lucas Rosales (La Quinta H.S.) found freshman forward Alejandro Pimentel (Thermal Desert Mirage) in front of the goal mouth, pounding a shot into the back of the net and giving the Roadrunners an early 1-0 lead.

Pimentel commented after the game, "The ball (had just gone) out of bounds and I saw a space, because the defender was out covering Nathan (Ocampo), so I just checked in and no one saw me, so I just got a one-on-one versus the goalie and I took him."

The Coyotes offense was relentless, even as the Desert defense was holding back the tide and the Roadrunners offense was trying to stretch the field, Cuyamaca would still take ten of their 26 total shots in the first half alone.

Freshman starting goal keeper Uriel Lopez (Palm Desert H.S.) heaped a great deal of praise upon the defense in front of him for the clean sheet. "They sacrificed their lives for me man, they sacrifice (their) bodies and I appreciate it so much," Lopez said after the game.

Desert would carry their 1-0 lead through halftime at which time the Roadrunners strategy was adjusted to collect the win. Pimentel stated, "Our coaches were telling us that we should apply pressure and force them play the long ball, because we have tall center backs, so it was going to make it difficult for them."

Lopez would have to make six huge saves in the second half, leading to five of the eight total corner kicks for Cuyamaca, compared to zero corner kicks for Desert on the afternoon. "It's an amazing feeling (to grab this clean sheet), we all worked together hard, it's not all about the goal keeper you know, it's the whole team, it's all a team effort." said Lopez.

The next home game for Desert is next Tuesday, when they host the San Diego Mesa Olympians on October 23, game starts at 3 p.m. The Roadrunners defeated Mesa earlier this season in San Diego on September 21, 1-0 and defeated the Olympians last season in Palm Desert, 2-1.

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For additional information, please contact the COD Sports Information Office at 760.423.6641.

Information & Story provided by COD Sports Information. Photo by COD Sports Information assistant Ashtyn Lyneis.