The Irvine Valley men’s soccer team handed Golden West its first loss in Orange Empire Conference play Tuesday afternoon at Irvine Valley.

The Lasers scored two goals in each half to earn a convincing 4-1 victory. It was an important win for the Lasers. IVC was coming off a tie and a loss last week and it was facing a hot Golden West side.

The Rustlers had posted positive results in their previous six matches before Tuesday (3 wins and 3 ties) and were in second place in the conference standings. They were two points in back of conference-leading Santiago Canyon heading into the contest.

With the win, IVC moved into a tie with Golden West for second-place in the conference. Each team now has eight points. Santa Ana and Santiago Canyon were tied for first with 10 points. Santa Ana defeated Santiago Canyon, 2-0, on Tuesday.

IVC controlled play from the start against Golden West and finished the contest out-shooting the Rustlers, 18-7.

"It was nice to score some goals today after struggling last week," IVC Coach Martin McGrogan said.

Irvine Valley got on the board in the 14^th minute when freshman midfielder Jack Plummer beat GWC's keeper with a nifty left-footed shot. The assist went to freshman forward Bruno Sad.

The Lasers had several chances to increase their lead. Sad hit the post with a shot in the 21^st minute and then just missed a shot wide in the 25^th minute.

In the 39^th minute the Lasers did make it 2-0. Plummer took a free kick from the edge of the box on the left side. His attempt hit the side post, but sophomore Erik Van Der Meulen was there to knock it in. The half ended with IVC ahead, 2-0.

The Lasers upped the lead to 3-0 early in the second half. Sophomore defender Darren Whitty’s free kick from about 40 yards on the left side found the head of freshman midfielder Ashley Cattermole right in front of the goal.

Cattermole’s header was knocked away by the Rustler goalie, but freshman forward Corey Cordray was there to put the ball away. It was Cordray’s team-leading seventh goal of the season.

Golden West scored its lone goal of the game in the 55^th minute when Tony Cuevas found the back of the net off a nice forward through pass from Jose Luis Garcia.

But the Lasers put the game out of reach in the 74^th minute after freshman forward John Faulds was taken down in the box. IVC was awarded a penalty kick and Plummer converted with a low shot to the right side.

"I thought we did quite well today," McGrogan said. "It was one of our better games of the season. And just about everyone got a chance to play too, which was good."

The two goals for Plummer were his team-leading fourth and fifth in conference play. He has 13 points (5 goals and 3 assists) in conference.

Irvine Valley takes on Santa Ana in a key conference match-up on Friday at 3 p.m. at Irvine Valley.