11/23/2010 Lasers end season with playoff loss
The Irvine Valley men's soccer team lost to Santa Ana for the second time in the last three games as the Dons (15-3-4) handed the Lasers (15-5-2) a 1-0 defeat in a second round playoff match of the CCCAA Soccer Southern Regional Playoffs Tuesday afternoon at Santa Ana. Orlando Alcaraz had the first scoring opportunity of the game when he dribbled around the Lasers' defense but was stopped by IVC goalkeeper Daniel Hernandez one-on-one to keep the game scoreless.
Gilberto Castaneda scored the only goal of the game in the 25th minute for Santa Ana when he buried a header into the back of the net. Edgar Islas set the goal up with a cross from the left side to the top of the box.
Alcaraz was turned away for the second time by Hernandez in the 38th minute and Castaneda sent a header over the crossbar in the 45th minute keeping the score at 1-0 going into the half.
IVC, the seventh seed in the playoffs, just couldn't get things going offensively all game. It was just the third time in 22 matches this season that IVC failed to score a goal.
Hernandez finished with four saves for the Lasers.
IVC advanced to the second round with a 2-1 win over East Los Angeles College in overtime in the first round last Saturday.
Santa Ana, which is seeded second, moves on to face Canyons on Saturday in a regional final. Canyons upset No. 3 Cerritos earlier on Tuesday.
11/20/2010 Men's soccer team outlasts East Los Angeles
VC's men's soccer team defeated East Los Angeles, 2-1, in overtime in the first round of the Southern California Regional Playoffs on rainy Saturday at Irvine Valley.
Freshman sensation Fredy Razo scored the game-winner for IVC in the third minute of the first of two 15-minute overtimes off passes from sophomores Jack Sessions and Nick Black. It was Razo's 26th goal of the season.
Black scored IVC's first goal - only five minutes into the contest off a ball played through by sophomore Chris Popke. Black out-raced and beat a defender and then slotted the ball past the East LA keeper.
IVC, the seventh seed, led the game, 1-0, at halftime.
No. 10 East LA scored got its goal from Kevin Gomez in the third minute of the second half.
Irvine Valley looked like it had another goal shortly after, but it was called back for offsides.
Sophomore keeper Daniel Hernandez came up with two big saves at point-blank range in the IVC victory. He finished with 10 saves on the day.
"The boys played well and we did what we had to for the win," IVC Coach Martin McGrogan said. "East LA was a solid team and we had to earn it. I think that our fitness really helped us in the end."
Irvine Valley, which improved its record to 15-4-2, moves on to the second round to play Orange Empire Conference rival Santa Ana on Tuesday at Santa Ana. Santa Ana, which is the No. 2 seed and received a bye in the first round, edged IVC for the conference title this season.
The two teams split conference contests with each winning on the other's home field. Santa Ana won the last meeting, defeating Irvine Valley, 6-1, in the final game of the regular season to claim the conference crown outright.
"We are looking forward to playing Santa Ana again," McGrogan said. "It will be a great battle. Santa Ana played well, but I just don't think we were focused the way we needed to be in that last game. Everyone is ready to go for Tuesday. We get a chance to redeem ourselves."
11/19/2010 IVC vs. East LA playoff preview
The Irvine Valley men's soccer team is back in the Southern California Regional Playoffs and the Lasers host East Los Angeles in the first round on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Irvine Valley is seeded seventh and East LA is seeded 10th.
The last time Irvine Valley and East LA met was in the first round of the 2007 So. Cal. Regional playoffs.
Irvine Valley, playing at home, defeated East Los Angels, 1-0, on a goal by Christian Correa-Henschke off an assist by Mark Shadrack.
This season, East Los Angeles finished third in the tough South Coast Conference behind top-seeded Mt. SAC and Cerritos.
The Huskies have a record of 9-6-5 overall and were 7-3-4 in conference. East LA has out-scored opponents, 40-29, this year.
Irvine Valley was a close second in the Orange Empire Conference, finishing just two points behind Santa Ana. Irvine Valley’s record is 14-4-2 and the team was 10-3-1 in conference.
IVC has out-scored opponents, 53-31, this season.
Irvine Valley freshman forward Fredy Razo has broken the school record for goals in a season with 25. His 56 points (25 goals and 6 assists) ranked second in the state at the end of the regular season.
Today’s winner travels to No. 2 Santa Ana next Tuesday for the second round.
Playoff Pairings for the Southern California Region
No. 1 Mt. SAC – bye in first round
No. 9 Oxnard vs. No. 8 Los Angeles Harbor
No 12 Allan Hancock vs. No. 5 Santa Barbara
No. 13 Rio Hondo vs. No. 4 San Diego City
No. 14 Chaffey vs. No. 3 Cerritos
No. 11 Palomar vs. No. 6 Canyons
No. 10 East Los Angeles vs. No. 7 Irvine Valley
No. 2 Santa Ana – bye in the first round
11/12/2010 Soccer team loses out on conference title
The Irvine Valley men’s soccer team ran into a determined Santa Ana squad Friday afternoon.
IVC had a chance with a win or a tie to claim the Orange Empire Conference title.
Santa Ana played one of its best games of the year in beating the Lasers, 6-1, at Irvine Valley.
Santa Ana, which trailed Irvine Valley by one point for first place heading into the match, won the conference title with the victory.
“Give them credit,” IVC Coach Martin McGrogan said. “We made mistakes, especially on defense, but they were the better team today.”
The six goals were the most by far that Irvine Valley had given up this season. The most prior was three goals on three different occasions.
Santa Ana (14-3-4, 10-1-3) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute on a goal by Gilberto Castaneda.
IVC (14-4-2, 10-3-1) came right back and nearly scored. Freshman Fredy Razo sent a high shot that Santa Ana keeper Jarrod Stith was able to knock over the top of the goal.
Razo almost scored again in the 25th minute, but Stith made a diving kick save on Razo’s left-footed blast.
And then IVC sophomore Nick Black came close, but headed an attempt over the top of the goal.
Santa Ana made it a 2-0 game a couple of minutes later. The ball was played up top to Orlando Alcaraz. He controlled it and played a pass back to Edgar Islas, who one-timed a shot past IVC sophomore keeper Daniel Hernandez.
The half ended with Santa Ana up, 2-0.
Ten minutes into the second half, the Dons went ahead, 3-0 on a goal by Leonardo Contreras.
It got worse for the Lasers, when, in the 64th minute, Ronald Ybarra was taken down in the box by IVC’s keeper. Ybarra buried the ensuing penalty kick in the lower right corner to make it 4-0.
IVC got on the board one minute later when freshman Sean Hudnall took a cross from Razo and scored.
But Irvine Valley just couldn’t create enough chances in the second half.
Santa Ana went ahead, 5-1, in the 77th minute when Alcaraz scored off a pass from Ybarra. And the Dons capped their scoring in the 85th minute when Contreras was in the right spot to put in a rebound off a shot by Ivan Moreno that was saved off the line.
Santa Ana out-shot Irvine Valley, 14-10, in the contest. Stith had five saves in goal for Santa Ana and Hernandez made four for Irvine Valley.
Both teams will find out their playoff pairings early next week. The first round of the Southern California Regional playoffs is on Saturday, Nov. 20.
11/9/2010 Lasers rally at Golden West, stay in first place
For the second time in Orange Empire Conference play, the Irvine Valley men's soccer team scored two goals in the final 10 minutes of a game to pull out a victory.
The first time came in a 3-2 come from behind win at Riverside on Oct. 26.
The Lasers did it again on Tuesday, rallying with two goals in the final six minutes to win at Golden West, 3-2.
Freshman Fredy Razo, sophomore Jack Sessions and
sophomore Francisco Hernandez scored goals in the game with Hernandez getting the game-winner off an assist from Razo.
Freshman Dietrich Geister was stellar in goal for the Lasers and made nine saves.
The win improved Irvine Valley's record to 14-3-2 overall and 10-2-1 in conference and kept the Lasers a point ahead of Santa Ana for first place in the OEC standings with one match to play. That match is a big one as IVC hosts Santa Ana on Friday at 3 p.m. with the conference title on the line.
11/5/2010 Men's soccer team tops Santiago Canyon
The Irvine Valley men’s soccer team earned a much needed victory Friday afternoon at home.
With Santa Ana nipping at the Lasers’ heels for first place in the Orange Empire Conference, Irvine Valley held its ground with a 3-2 win over Santiago Canyon.
The victory broke a two-game winless streak (one loss and one tie) for Irvine Valley and improved the Lasers’ record to 13-3-2 overall and 9-2-1 in conference.
With Santa Ana winning at Fullerton Friday, Irvine Valley remained one point ahead of the Dons for first place.
IVC, which hadn’t scored in two matches, got on the board early on Friday. Freshman Rodrigo Rubalcaba sent a long ball through to sophomore Nick Black and Black did the rest, outracing the defense and then sliding a shot by Santiago Canyon goalie Shion Jahangiri in the seventh minute.
Irvine Valley increased its lead to 2-0 in the 28th minute on another Rubalcaba to Black connection. This time Rubalcaba chipped a free kick into the box from the left side. Black made a run in, controlled the ball and then nudged it past Jahangiri. The two goals gave Black nine on the season.
Santiago Canyon got back into the match with a goal by Kody Farrel off a cross from John Tribbey in the 33rd minute and the Hawks tied the score just before the end of the first half on Farrel’s second goal of the game. Keith Woolley found Farrel open in the box and he one-timed a shot past IVC sophomore goalie Daniel Hernandez.
The Lasers didn’t let the game get away, however. Freshman Fredy Razo scored his state-leading 24th goal of the season to put IVC up for good in the 63rd minute. Sophomore Jack Sessions found a streaking Razo. He took possession of the ball, pushed it around Jahangiri and then rolled a shot in.
Hernandez and the IVC defense were solid in the second half. Hernandez made a nice diving save on a shot by Woolley late in the contest.
IVC finishes the regular season next week with two big games – against the third and second place teams in conference. IVC is at Golden West on Tuesday at 1 p.m. and hosts Santa Ana on Friday at 3 p.m.
11/2/2010 Lasers have scoreless draw with Orange Coast
The Irvine Valley men’s soccer team has scored a lot of goals this year – 46 to be exact.
But the Lasers haven’t been able to get on the scoreboard in the last two matches.
After a 1-0 loss at Fullerton last Friday, the Lasers tied Orange Coast, 0-0, on Tuesday in an Orange Empire Conference contest at IVC.
“We just weren’t good enough today,” IVC Coach Martin McGrogan said after the tie with OCC. “We have a good group of boys that have worked hard all season. We just need to get back on track.”
IVC (12-3-2, 8-2-1) and Orange Coast (3-9-5, 1-5-5) each had a goal called back for offsides in the contest – IVC’s coming in the first half and OCC’s in the second half.
The Lasers had one of their other best chances in the first half and it came just minutes in. Freshman Fredy Razo’s header attempt was saved by Orange Coast keeper Alan Vilchez.
Sophomore Nick Black had another good chance for the Lasers in the 19th minute, but he pushed his shot from close range wide right.
Orange Coast nearly scored at the end of the first half. Mario Hernandez’s header hit off the crossbar in the 44th minute.
There were just seven combined shots by the two teams in the first half and only five in the second half.
IVC’s best chance in the second half came on a shot inside by freshman Robert Hernandez, but Orange Coast defender Callon Campbell was in the right spot to head it away from going in the net.
Sophomore Daniel Hernandez finished with four saves for IVC in goal, while Vilchez had three saves for the Pirates. It was Hernandez’s fourth shutout of the season for the Lasers.
The tie didn’t help Irvine Valley in the race for the conference title. The Lasers led by three points over second-place Santa Ana going into Tuesday’s action. But Santa Ana cut the deficit to just a point with a 4-1 victory over Santiago Canyon.
The Lasers host Santiago Canyon on Friday at 1 p.m. It is part of a doubleheader with the IVC women’s team. The Laser women play their final home game of the season against Cypress at 3 p.m.
10/29/2010 Men's soccer team falls at Fullerton
The Irvine Valley men's soccer team saw its lead in the Orange Empire Conference standings shrink a little bit on Friday.
The Lasers dropped just their second match in conference play, losing at Fullerton, 1-0.
IVC had several good chances to score, but couldn't finish. Fullerton's goal came on an IVC mistake on the defensive end.
Laser sophomore goalie Daniel Hernandez finished with three saves.
Irvine Valley's record dropped to 12-3-1 overall and 8-2-0 in conference. With Santa Ana winning on Friday, 4-0, at Riverside, the Lasers are now three points ahead of the Dons with four matches to play.
IVC plays again next Tuesday, hosting Orange Coast at 3 p.m. Irvine Valley plays three of its final four matches of the regular season at home.
10/26/2010 Lasers pull out dramatic victory at Riverside
Irvine Valley's men's soccer team was down, but not out Tuesday at Riverside.
The Lasers trailed, 2-0, late in the Orange Empire Conference contest.
But IVC scored two goals in the final five minutes of regulation time and then another five minutes into extra time to earn a dramatic 3-2 win.
The victory kept Irvine Valley's lead at six points at the top of the Orange Empire Conference standings.
IVC improved its record to 12-2-1 overall and 8-1-0 in conference. It was Irvine Valley's third-straight victory since losing its first conference match.
Freshman Fredy Razo scored all three IVC goals in the victory. They were his 21st, 22nd and 23rd goals of the season. Razo broke the school record with his first goal of the day.
The first two scores were on penalty kicks (85th and 88th minutes). And Razo's game-winning and third goal came in the 95th minute off an assist from freshman Sean Hudnall.
IVC keeper Daniel Hernandez made seven saves in the match.
The Lasers, who are ranked ninth in Southern California, play again on Friday at Fullerton at 3 p.m. IVC defeated Fullerton, 5-1, the first time the two teams met.
10/22/2010 Black and Hernandez lead IVC to victory
The Irvine Valley men’s soccer team had no letdown after its biggest victory of the season on Tuesday.
The Lasers took care of business Friday afternoon, beating Cypress, 4-1, at home to begin the second round of Orange Empire Conference play.
IVC got standout performances from sophomores Nick Black and Francisco Hernandez and then solid play from its reserves in the victory, which improved the team’s record to 11-2-1 overall and 7-1-0 in conference.
The Lasers, ranked 12th in the state, stayed atop of the conference standings. They led second-place Santa Ana by four points heading into the contest.
“We created some good chances in the first half,” IVC Coach Martin McGrogan said. “We slowed down for a little bit and Cypress played well. I thought maybe we were a little fatigued, maybe because of (the tough 4-3 win at Santa Ana) Tuesday. But we have a really good bench. We have strong players there and that helped us today.”
Irvine Valley scored the first two goals of the game and never looked back. Black was taken down in the penalty box in the 16th minute and freshman Fredy Razo put the ensuing penalty kick away for a 1-0 lead. It was Razo’s 20th goal of the season. He was tied for the state lead in goals going into the match.
Black helped set up the Lasers’ next goal as well. Hernandez put scored on a nice feed from Black to make it 2-0 in the 20th minute.
Cypress got on the board in the 29th minute with a goal by Manuel Espinoza and the Chargers had the better of the play in the final 15 minutes of the first half.
But it was all Lasers in the second half.
Black scored on a high shot off a perfectly placed through pass by freshman Rodrigo Rubalcaba in the 53rd minute to make it a 3-1 game.
And Black scored again in the 83rd minute to finish off his fine effort. He nailed a left-footed shot into the upper right corner. Hernandez played the ball forward to Black for the goal.
Sophomore goalie Daniel Hernandez made four saves in goal for Irvine Valley, which travels to Riverside next Tuesday for a conference match at 3 p.m.
10/20/2010 Lasers looking forward to more success
The Irvine Valley men's soccer team is flying high in Orange Empire Conference play.
The Lasers won their first five games in conference and then defeated Santa Ana, 4-3, on the road on Tuesday.
IVC improved its record to 10-2-1 overall with the win over Santa Ana. The Lasers are first in conference with a mark of 6-1-0.
The reason, according to Coach Martin McGrogan, has been great balance on the field and outstanding team chemistry off of it.
On the field, the Lasers have shown dynamic offensive play, a stonewall defense, unselfishness from midfielders and remarkable goaltending throughout this season.
Irvine Valley has out-scored its opponents, 39-17, this year.
Freshman Fredy Razo has an impressive 19 goals, which is the most since Chris Gould scored 20 for IVC in the 2003 season. Gould helped lead the Lasers to the state title in 2003 and finished with 37 goals in his two-year IVC career.
Sophomore Nick Black has chipped in five goals and 10 assists.
The defense, led by freshman Shaun Murphy, sophomore Francisco Hernandez and sophomore goalie Daniel Hernandez, is allowing just 1.17 goals per game.
"We have the belief that goal scorers win the headlines, but teams win the games," McGrogan said. "And we've had a lot of team wins this year.
"Our squad has been focused and working hard coming off a disappointing season with a young team last year. The continuing focus is to make sure we keep doing the right thing. Work hard for each other and maintain form. "We really believe that form is temporary, but class is permanent."
First-place Irvine Valley plays again on Friday, hosting Cypress at 1 p.m.
10/19/2010 Men's soccer team triumphs at Santa Ana
The Irvine Valley men's soccer team can breathe a little bit easier at the top of the Orange Empire Conference standings.
The Lasers led rival Santa Ana by just one point for first place going into Tuesday's showdown at Santa Ana.
But after a 4-3 victory, Irvine Valley now sits four points ahead of its rival.
Irvine Valley improved its record to 10-2-1 overall and 6-1-0 in conference, while Santa Ana slipped to 8-3-3 overall and 4-1-2 in conference.
Irvine Valley managed the wet conditions better. Most of the game was played under a steady rain.
The Lasers jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a pair of penalty kicks by freshman Fredy Razo in the 36th and 43rd minutes.
The Dons cut the lead to 2-1 right before half time when Luis Astorga took a free kick from just inside midfield. The ball was unplayed and bounced past Laser sophomore goalie Daniel Hernandez.
Razo completed his hat trick less than a minute into the second half when he was able to control a bouncing ball in the box and bury a shot past Santa Ana keeper Jerrod Stith, who had just entered in place of starter Ivan Rodriguez.
The three goals were Razo's 17th, 18th and 19th of the season.
The Lasers extended their lead to 4-1 in the 56th minute when sophomore Nick Black scored on a header off Joshua Ruiz's corner kick.
Ronald Ybarra then scored on a free kick in the 73rd minute for Santa Ana to cut the Lasers' lead to 4-2.
Cesar Hernandez connected on a shot to put the Dons in striking position when he scored on a pass from Remijio Contreras to pull the Dons within one in the 90th minute.
However, the Lasers held on.
Rodriguez didn't make a save in 45 minutes for the Dons while allowing two goals before Stith entered the game. Stith also allowed two goals with one save.
Hernandez made five saves for the Lasers while allowing all three goals in 90 minutes.
IVC plays again on Friday, hosting Cypress at 1 p.m. as the first game of a doubleheader with the Laser women's team.
10/15/2010 Soccer team drops first conference match
Golden West scored two goals in the final 10 minutes, including the game-winner with two minutes left to hand the Irvine Valley men’s soccer team its first defeat in Orange Empire Conference play. The defeat also snapped Irvine Valley’s seven-match win streak overall.
The Lasers’ record fell to 10-2-1 overall and 5-1-0 in conference. IVC went into Friday’s action in first place in the standings – ½ match ahead of Santa Ana.
Golden West improved to 4-6-3 overall and 3-1-2 in conference.
“We made a couple of individual mistakes and they capitalized with some good goals,” Irvine Valley Coach Martin McGrogan said.
The three goals tied the most IVC has given up in a game this season.
All five goals in the contest were scored in the second half.
Irvine Valley took the lead six minutes into the second half when sophomore forward Nick Black headed in a nifty cross from freshman Martin Licea.
Golden West leveled the game in the 65th minute. Jesus Garcia made his way past the IVC defense and then rolled a pass into the box where Jordan Gorman one-timed a shot past Laser sophomore keeper Daniel Hernandez.
IVC went back on top, 2-1, in the 74th minute. The goal set up started in the back where freshman defender Josh Ruiz lofted a pass up front to Black who guided a pass with his head through the Golden West defense and right on to the foot of freshman Fredy Razo.
Razo connected for his 16th goal of the season, beating Golden West keeper Paul Elias with a low left-footed shot to the right corner of the goal.
But Golden West wasn’t done.
The Rustlers scored in the 80th minute, taking advantage of an IVC misplay in the back. Garcia jumped on a loose ball and scored to tie things up at 2-2.
And Golden West earned the win after an IVC foul set up a free kick. Garcia played a ball into the box and Omar Laris headed it in.
Hernandez made three saves in goal for the Lasers with Elias making four saves for the Rustlers.
IVC plays again next Tuesday, traveling to Santa Ana for a 3 p.m. conference contest. The match if the final one in the first round of conference play.
10/12/2010 Lasers win again in conference play
The Irvine Valley men's soccer team ran its record to 5-0-0 in Orange Empire Conference play with a 4-1 victory at Santiago Canyon on Tuesday afternoon.
The Lasers have now won seven straight games overall.
Freshman sensation Fredy Razo continued to dazzle for the Lasers, scoring three goals.
He has eight goals in the team's last three games and increased his total on the season to 15 goals.
"Fredy's been great ," IVC Coach Martin McGrogan said. "Goal scorers get the attention, and Fredy deserves it, but overall the whole team has been playing really well."
The Lasers took a 1-0 lead in the first half against Santiago Canyon and then IVC scored three more in the second half.
Freshman Mustafaa Islam contributed one goal and one assist and sophomores Nick Black and Jonathan Swedlund also had assists for the Lasers in the win.
IVC, which improved its record to 9-1-1 overall, plays again in a conference match on Friday, hosting Golden West at 3 p.m.
10/9/2010 Men's soccer team wins 3-0 at Orange Coast
The Irvine Valley men's soccer team continued to roll in Orange Empire Conference play.
The Lasers shut out Orange Coast, 3-0, on Friday at OCC.
IVC has now out-scored conference opponents, 13-2, in its four matches.
The win improved Irvine Valley's record to 8-1-1 overall and 4-0-0 in conference.
It is the team's best start in conference since 2006 when the Lasers began 5-0-1 in conference play. That year the team made the second round of the Southern California Regional playoffs.
The Pirates hung tough with the Lasers for most of the first half last Friday before a late goal by sophomore defender Francisco Hernandez put IVC up for good. Freshman Robert Hernandez had the assist on the corner kick goal.
It was back-and-forth action in the second half before the Lasers iced the game with a pair of goals by freshman forward Fredy Razo in the final 11 minutes of play.
Razo increased his team lead in goals to 12. It is the most goals scored by an IVC player since Jack Plummer had 12 in the 2007 season. Plummer finished with 12 goals and eight assists that year.
Sophomores Jack Sessions and Nick Black each received assists on Razo's goals.
IVC sophomore goalkeeper Daniel Hernandez picked up the shutout win with six saves. It was his second shutout in conference action.
Irvine Valley plays again on Tuesday at Santiago Canyon in a 3 p.m. contest.
10/5/2010 Razo scores hat trick in IVC win over Fullerton
Irvine Valley men’s soccer player Fredy Razo was at it again on Tuesday afternoon. The freshman standout scored IVC’s first three goals on the way to a 5-1 Orange Empire Conference victory over Fullerton at Irvine Valley.
The win improved the team’s record to 7-1-1 overall and 3-0-0 in conference. The Lasers went into the contest tied for first place in the conference standings with Santa Ana.
Razo’s three goals moved his tally for the season to 10. He leads the conference in scoring.
“Fredy is just a special player,” IVC Coach Martin McGrogan said. “He has fantastic balance, a very good first touch and he is fearless out there.”
Razo had three goals and nearly scored a couple of more. He hit a lefty shot just over the top of the goal in the 14th minute and hit the post after faking out two defenders in the 34th minute.
Razo did get IVC on the board in the 29th minute when he took a through ball from sophomore Nick Black, took two touches to get past the defense and then beat Fullerton keeper A.J. Arenas with a shot.
But even though IVC dominated the first half, holding most of the possession and out-shooting the Hornets, 11-4, the score was just 1-0.
Fullerton played IVC even early in the second half and then took advantage of one of its best opportunities to tie the game. After an IVC misplay in the back in the 58th minute, Omar Martinez showed some nice footwork and slid a shot past IVC sophomore goalie Daniel Hernandez. Hernandez dove and got his fingertips on the ball, but it wasn’t enough to stop the shot from going into the lower left corner.
But the match didn’t stay tied for long. IVC stormed back with four goals in the final 19 minutes.
Sophomore midfielder Chris Popke got past Arenas and then fed Razo, who back-heeled a shot into the net from just a yard out for a 2-1 lead.
Razo then scored on a ball played through by Popke in the 78th minute.
Black scored on a free kick that bounced off the Fullerton wall and into the right corner of the goal in the 83rd minute. And freshman Brian Bennett capped IVC’s scoring, putting away a goal after a corner kick from freshman Robert Hernandez.
“I thought we were a little casual there for a bit,” McGrogan said. “I always thought we had the ability to win the game. It just took a while. We showed how strong we can be in the end.”
IVC plays again on Friday, traveling to Orange Coast for a 1 p.m. contest.
10/1/10 Irvine Valley blanks Riverside
The Irvine Valley men’s soccer team had a pretty good week.
The Lasers won their second straight match to open Orange Empire Conference play, shutting out a solid Riverside squad, 3-0, Friday afternoon at home.
IVC defeated Cypress, 2-1, on the road earlier in the week.
The win on Friday improved Irvine Valley’s record to 6-1-1 overall and 2-0-0 in conference.
It was the team’s fourth straight victory overall.
“It is a very hard working group,” IVC Coach Martin McGrogan said of his team. “You are always pleased when the kids work hard for themselves and this group works hard for their teammates as well. It helps when you have some talent too.”
Riverside showed its talent early on – nearly scoring twice in the opening three minutes. IVC goalie Daniel Hernandez sprinted out from his goal on one Riverside breakaway to make a diving stop.
Sophomore midfielder Chris Popke gave IVC a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute. Sophomore Nick Black kept a ball alive in the box and got it to freshman Fredy Razo. Razo headed the ball to Popke, who then sent his own header over Riverside keeper Antoine Williams and into the net.
Both teams had good chances the rest of the half. Freshman Mustafaa Islam and Razo each nearly scored for IVC.
A shot by Riverside’s Cesar Lopez was saved by Hernandez.
IVC’s Razo just missed wide after some nice work by Popke on the left side and then Riverside’s Jordan Davis narrowly missed the mark on a shot.
Davis then had another opportunity on a shot at close range, but Hernandez was able to snuff out the attempt.
Razo couldn’t find the target on a breakaway attempt for IVC in the 37th minute.
In the seventh minute of the second half, Riverside had another chance, but Hernandez made a save at point blank range.
After that it was all IVC. The Lasers took a 2-0 lead in the 62nd minute. Black found freshman defender Josh Ruiz making a run on the left side. Ruiz beat a defender and then crossed the ball into the box where Licea put it away.
And the Lasers put a cap on the game when Jack Sessions showed some nice touch by chipping Williams for the team’s third goal of the game.
Hernandez ended up making six saves in the game for IVC, while Williams had three for Riverside.
“This was a good win,” McGrogan said. “I thought Riverside played well. We were a little fortunate not to be down a couple of goals early. I thought once we settled in, we were able to capitalize on some things and score some really good goals.”
9/28/2010 Lasers win conference opener, down Cypress
The Irvine Valley men’s soccer team surpassed its win total from all of last season with a 2-1 Orange Empire Conference opening victory at Cypress on Tuesday.
The Lasers, who won four games in 2009, improved their record to 5-1-1 this season. Sophomore Nick Black and freshman Mustafaa Islam scored goals for the Lasers and freshmen Arash Maghsoodi and Fredy Razo had assists in the win.
IVC took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Black in the 23rd minute.
Cypress tied the score in the 60th minute, but the Lasers earned the victory with a goal by Black on an assist from Maghsoodi in the 84th minute.
Sophomore Daniel Hernandez played the first half in goal for IVC and had five saves.
Freshman Dietrich Geister had six saves in the second half for the Lasers.
IVC hosts Riverside on Friday at 1 p.m. in a conference contest.
9/17/2010 Men's soccer team impressive at Glendale
The Irvine Valley men's soccer team ended the pre-conference part of its schedule on a high note.
The Lasers won, 4-0, at Glendale Tuesday in a match under the lights.
Irvine Valley scored three of those goals in the first half.
Freshman defender Brian Bennett scored his first goal of the year and gave Irvine Valley a 1-0 lead early in the contest. He took a throw in from freshman midfielder Robert Hernandez and finished.
Sophomore defender Francisco Hernandez then scored back-to-back goals to cap a well-played first half for IVC.
Hernandez took the ball up the field, played it to sophomore midfielder Nick Black and then continued his run. Black found Hernandez open and he scored on a long-range shot.
Hernandez then scored on a free kick for the Lasers to make it a 3-0 game.
Irvine Valley finished its scoring in the second half when freshman forward and goal-leader Fredy Razo put away a penalty kick. It was Razo's seventh goal of the year.
Sophomores Daniel Hernandez and Kurt Bond each played a half in goal to earn the shutout.
"The boys played hard and really well at times," IVC Coach Martin McGrogan said. "It was a good win against a pretty physical team."
The result improved the team's record to a solid 4-1-1 on the season. The four victories already matches the win total from the 2009 season (4-12-4).
Irvine Valley now doesn't play again until Sept. 28 when it opens Orange Empire Conference play with a match at Cypress at 1 p.m.
9/7/2010 Men's soccer team takes care of Mesa
The Irvine Valley men’s soccer team picked up its play midway through the second half, scored two goals in the final 24 minutes and pulled away for a 3-1 win over San Diego Mesa in a non-conference match Tuesday afternoon at IVC.
Freshman Fredy Razo had one goal and two assists to lead the Lasers.
Irvine Valley (3-1-1) handed San Diego Mesa (1-1-2) its first defeat of the season.
“Overall we were just good enough to eek out a win,” IVC Coach Martin McGrogan said. “I think we might have been a little bit tired from the tournament. At times we played really well and at times we were ordinary.”
It was Irvine Valley’s fourth game in the last five days. It played three games last weekend in the Hartnell College Tournament in Salinas. IVC went 1-1-1 in the tourney and finished fourth out of 12 teams.
IVC had everything clicking early on. The Lasers scored their quickest goal of the season, finding the back of the net less than three minutes into the contest.
Razo found sophomore Nick Black open in front of the goal. Razo fed Black and he one-timed a shot past San Diego Mesa keeper Grant Essig.
Black nearly scored two more times on left-footed shots from the top of the box in the following minutes. Essig knocked the second wide of the goal with a diving save.
IVC sophomore midfielder Jack Sessions also nearly scored in the first half. His left-footed strike was also saved by Essig.
San Diego Mesa had the better of the play early in the second half and took advantage of an opportunity with an impressive goal. Kyle Berner headed in a ball sent in by Omar Rubio to tie the game, 1-1, in the 52nd minute.
Irvine Valley found its way a few minutes later and took the lead for good. Freshman Rodrigo Rubalcaba sent a through pass to Razo, who beat Essig with a shot to the low left corner in the 66th minute.
IVC capped its scoring in the 84th minute when freshman Martin Licea tapped in a pass from Razo. The goal was set up by sophomore defender Francisco Hernandez, who sent a nice pass down the right side to Razo.
Sophomore Daniel Hernandez played the first half for IVC in goal and didn’t have to make a save. Freshman Dietrich Geister was in goal in the second half and made one save.
IVC gets a week off before playing again. It travels to Glendale next Tuesday for a game under the lights at 7 p.m.
8/31/10 IVC gets 2010 off to solid start
The Irvine Valley men’s soccer team scored three goals in a dominating second-half performance to come away with a 3-1 victory over Moorpark in its season opener Tuesday afternoon at Irvine Valley.
The Lasers looked like a completely different team than the one from a 4-12-4 campaign last season, especially in the final 45 minutes.
"It is a good group and the boys worked really, really hard out there," McGrogan said. "I thought we had a number of good chances to score. There is still a lot of work to do, but at least this group seems prepared to want to do the work. And that makes a big difference."
Moorpark got on the board first in the 12th minute. Kory Dapello sent a pass from left to right that bounced right to Sebastian Rodriguez and Rodriguez hit a volley from just inside the box past IVC sophomore keeper Daniel Hernandez.
Hernandez made a great save shortly after to keep IVC within striking distance. Moorpark’s Kevin Staley got loose in a breakaway, but Hernandez came out from his goal, cut off the angle and made a sliding save on a shot by Staley.
Staley recovered and fired another shot with Hernandez out, but IVC freshman defender Edward Gomez cleared the ball off the goal line.
"That was a big play," McGrogan said. "We could have been down even more in the first half."
IVC’s best chance in the first half came when sophomore forward Nick Black turned with the ball and hit a high shot that Moorpark goalie Shawn Bailey timed and knocked over the top of the goal.
Irvine Valley had all the opportunities to score in the second half.
The Lasers took 13 shots and scored on three of them. Bailey saved seven others - most coming a point blank range.
Irvine Valley tied the game in the 55th minute on a penalty kick after obstruction was called on a Moorpark defender in the box. Sophomore midfielder Chris Popke put the kick away on a shot to the upper left corner.
IVC took the lead for good in the 68th minute. After a scramble on a corner kick, sophomore defender Francisco Hernandez kept the ball alive with a header to freshman forward Martin Licea, who hit a side volley into the back of the net.
Irvine Valley capped its scoring in the 83rd minute when freshman midfielder Rodrigo Rubalcaba put away a long throw in by sophomore midfielder Arash Maghsoodi.
"I thought we were a little more direct," McGrogan said. "I thought we played things into their strengths in the first half. In the second half, we pushed the ball behind them, got in back of them and made them defend facing their own goal.
"It was a very good, workmanlike performance," McGrogan said.
Black, freshman forward Fredy Razo, Licea and freshman midfielder Mustafaa Islam all had other chances at goals in the second half.
Hernandez ended up making three saves in goal in the first half for IVC and sophomore goalie Kurt Bond made one save in the second half.
Irvine Valley plays in the Hartnell Tournament this weekend, starting with games on Friday.
8/20/2010 Men's soccer team shows promise in scrimmage
The Irvine Valley men's soccer team got its 2010 schedule underway with a scrimmage against Yavapai of Arizona on Friday at IVC.
Overall, IVC Coach Martin McGrogan was pleased with his team's play.
"The effort was there," McGrogan said. "Everyone got to play. It is a big group in the preseason and it is going to be a bit disjointed with so many kids getting in.
But we got a chance to look at all the kids and liked a lot of what we saw."
McGrogan played one group of players the entire first half. They were Nick Black and Razo up front, Brandon Mulhall, Chris Popke, Jonathan Swedlund and Rodrigo Rubalcaba in the midfield, Josh Ruiz, Shaun Murphy, Simon Cherrie and Francisco Hernandez in the back and Daniel Hernandez in goal.
Different players shuffled in and out during the second half. Dietrich Geister and Kurt Bond each spent time in goal in the second half.
"I thought we created some chances and with some of the changes we made we had a couple of lapses too," McGrogan said. "But overall I thought it was a good performance.
"Brandon (Mulhall) did well, Fredy (Razo) and Jaime (Gutierrez) looked good. Rodrigo (Rubalcaba) played well. He passed the ball very good. I thought all of our goalies made at least one good save."
"We are getting closer to having a starting lineup," McGrogan added. "We are still trying to solidify the holding midfield spot. It is early, but I like the way we looked and where we are headed."
Irvine Valley officially opens its sason Aug. 31 in a non-conference match against Moorpark at 3 p.m. at Irvine Valley.
8/11/2010 Former IVC star Betu signs with MLS team 
Former Irvine Valley men's soccer player Roberto Linck was recently signed by the New England Revolution in Major League Soccer.
Linck, nicknamed Betu, is originally from Brazil.
Before coming to the United States in 2002, he played in Gremio Football Porto Alegrense’s (Gremio) youth development program while growing up in Brazil.
He came to Irvine Valley via playing in Utah and was a star for the Lasers during the 2006 and 2008 seasons. He sat out the 2007 season at Irvine Valley.
Linck scored six goals and had seven assists in helping the Lasers to a 15-4-4 overall record and the second round of the Southern California Regional playoffs in 2006.
He had eight goals and six assists in a 8-10-3 campaign for Irvine Valley in 2008.
Linck was signed by the Revolution on July 30, which was a day before his 22nd birthday.
Linck joined the Revolution from Romania’s CSM Râmnicu Vâlcea, where he has played the 2010 season.
Previously, the forward/midfielder played with the Chicago Storm of the U.S. (Indoor) Xtreme Soccer League.
"Roberto is a younger player who we’re optimistic can help us during the second half of the season," Revolution Vice President of Player Personnel Michael Burns said.
Irvine Valley long-time men's coach Martin McGrogan was excited for Linck.
"It is great for him and shows well of our program," McGrogan said. "He has all the talent in the world and should make a name for himself. I am sure he will do his best and play any role he can for New England."
McGrogan said the most striking part of Linck's game is "his technical ability. He could beat opponents so easily, he often would more than once."
Linck has seen action in one game as a reserve so far for the Revolution.
The team improved its record to 5-9-3 overall with a 1-0 win over DC United last weekend.