The Knights men’s soccer team won their third game in a row at home on Oct. 23 when they played against the Victor Valley Rams in a game that had a slow start but ended with a lot of drive.

The match started with a shy attempt from both teams, who were head to head in the beginning and despite having a few shots on the goal, it seemed like it would be a dry game. Luckily for the Knights, the energy of the game changed a few minutes later.

The Knights made a counter attack and broke into the Rams’ defense while trying to stop Knights’ on falls, Rams defense got too close to freshman forward Rafael Lopez and he dived onto the ground in the box area, leading to the referee marking a penalty kick for the Knights.

Freshman forward Francisco Contreras retrieved the penalty and scored the first goal for the Knights. This goal affected the Rams’ mental strength but solidified the Knights’ enthusiasm.

Rams Head Coach Michael Bradbury believed the penalty kick shouldn’t be marked, saying “it kind of killed our spirit a little bit.” Despite this comment, he believed the Knights did a great job and took advantage of the opportunities they created.

The first half the game ended with a 2-0 scored in favor of the Knights.

The second half the game became more aggressive – the Knights surprised the Rams a couple of minutes after it started and scored their third goal. Freshman goalie Anthony Squire neglected his net and Knights  passed the penalty area with no mark at all and scored  their third goal.

Soon after the Rams started feeling frustrated and freshman defender Orlando Ruiz hit the ground with his fist soon after the Knights scored, evidently in disbelief of what had just happened. The Rams became tougher after this and started marking Contreras closely and making more fouls to obstruct the Knights’ advancement.

The game then turned into a series of attacks and counter attacks. Players invested a lot of energy in blocking and moving the ball on the field unsuccessfully.

Freshman defender Tadey Anteneh broke this path and sprinted towards the Rams’ lodge, leaving far behind its defense and scoring the fourth goal for his team.

Towards the end of the game, the Knights had two important shots on goal. On the first one, Contreras easily got into the penalty area, leaving him in a personal battle with the goalie and scored his third goal and the fifth for the Knights

On the second one, freshman midfielder Avelino Morales sent a shot, and freshman goalie Anthony Squire quickly reacted securing the ball into his hands.

The Knights played very consistently on both halves of the game and secured several shoots on goal. Knights Head Coach Milton Hidalgo affirmed “(It was) our best game.” According to him the team did a great job defensively and offensively but they still need to get better in the passing game.

Knights defeated Victor Valley 5-0 and they look forward to keeping the same pace.

The next home game for the Knights will be on Friday Nov. 6 versus Palomar at 3 p.m.