Dons Allow Two Goals in Stoppage Time in 3-2 Loss to Rio Hondo

Eduardo Pantoja (14) fights off a Rio Hondo defender to control the ball on the sidelines.
Eduardo Pantoja (14) fights off a Rio Hondo defender to control the ball on the sidelines.

When the clock hit the 90th minute, the #11 Santa Ana College (SAC) men's soccer team held a 2-1 lead over #6 Rio Hondo College in their first round playoff match. However, the host Roadrunners found a way to score twice in the nearly six minutes of stoppage time to defeat the Dons 3-2 and advance in the playoffs.

Rio Hondo (10-7-5) scored the first goal of the match in the 12th minute, estbalishing a 1-0 lead that would last 28 minutes. Then, in the 30th minute, Steven Perez found the back of the net to tie the game at 1-1 for the Dons.

Three minutes later, Perez received a pass from Briant Rodelo and quickly passed the ball to Christian Supancic who scored, giving the Dons their first lead of the game at 2-1 in the 33rd minute.

The Dons held that lead all the way to the end of the game despite playing the final 30 minutes down a man following a red card. In total, their were six cards handed out in what turned out to be a very physical game.

Rio Hondo took advantage of the extra man just 30 seconds into stoppage time to score the equalizer. With the game seemingly headed for overtime, the Roadrunners managed to score the go-ahead goal moments before the referee whistled the game over.

With the win, Rio Hondo will now travel to #3 Santa Barbara City College after the Vaqueros defeated Los Angeles Harbor College 2-1.