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Lake Tahoe CC men’s soccer delivers key victory over Feather River

Anthony Gentile
agentile@tahoedailytribune.com
Lake Tahoe players (left to right) Josh Jirbandey, Soeren Gelbrecht, Ali Giammattei, Ross Gray and Alex Staines celebrate the Coyotes’ victory at Feather River along with head coach Ben Wade (center). LTCC’s 1-0 win over kept them atop the Golden Valley conference.
Courtesy Photo |

QUNICY, Calif. — The Lake Tahoe Community College men’s soccer team distanced itself from the rest of the Golden Valley Conference with a key victory Friday. The Coyotes beat Feather River College 1-0 on the road, a win that tightens their grip on the conference’s top spot.

“Big-time win — it puts us atop the conference and in the driver’s seat,” Coyotes head coach Ben Wade said.

Lake Tahoe (10-4-3, 5-0-1 Golden Valley) scored the only goal of the match in the 16th minute. Coyotes forward Michael Akin pressured Feather River’s goalkeeper into a turnover, and midfielder Carlos Trujeque finished the loose ball with a left-footed shot that put LTCC ahead 1-0.



Both teams had players sent off before halftime. Feather River midfielder Robel Dent was issued a red card in the second minute, and four minutes before halftime LTCC defender Jordan Potts was sent off — both sides finished the match with 10 players.

“We had the better of them and looked sharp,” Wade said. “We got a stupid red card in the middle of the first half, so we played with 10 players a lot of the game. We were forced to play more defensive but still kept very together and disciplined.”



Lake Tahoe stayed in front after its 16th-minute score, and goalkeeper Kyle Clark made a handful of saves to notch his fourth shutout of the season. In the first meeting between the teams, the Coyotes scored two goals in the last six minutes to tie the Golden Eagles — the second time around a dramatic comeback was necessary.

“We expected to win — we watched film all week, saw how they played, dissected it as a coaching staff, saw their weaknesses and directed the guys how to win,” Wade said. “Coming back from two goals down last game helped us believe we could do it.”

With the victory, Lake Tahoe opened up a six-point lead over the rest of the conference. For Feather River (6-3-1, 3-3-1), the defeat was its first in conference play.

Through Sunday, Lake Tahoe was ranked 13th in the state and seventh in Northern California. The Coyotes returned to action at Fresno City College (Calif.) on Tuesday, and travel to play Lassen College (Susanville, Calif.) on Friday.


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