Rams buck Bulldogs

At the end, both teams' coaches said that this first game went pretty much like ....well, a first game of the season.

Fresno City College controlled things most of the way and defeated Hancock College 4-2 at Hancock Tuesday in both men's soccer teams' season opener.

"We have a long way to go," Fresno coach Eric Solberg said after watching 2003 NSCAA All-American Raul Rivera, a sophomore forward, score twice and be-devil Hancock with his ball-handling.

Fresno, a state tournament Final Four team last year, was ranked fourth nationally in a pre-season poll.

"They'll be in the Final Four this year," Hancock coach Al Garcia said. After watching the Rams work the ball in the second half, one could say Garcia wasn't exactly making a daring prediction.

The Bulldogs have two sophomores on their 20-man roster. Fresno, which draws most of its 27-man squad from the soccer-rich Central Valley, has 17 sophomores. Garcia played everyone on his roster Tuesday.

"We just have to get everyone coordinated," he said. "What pleased me most was the way the guys off the bench came off and played. They showed that they were ready to fight for a starting position."

Garcia will get a better look at his players in the Hancock College Tournament which runs Friday through Sunday. Hancock plays San Joaquin Delta College of Stockton at 5 p.m. Friday in the first round.

Freshman stopper Victor Velasco stood out the most for the Bulldogs, who trailed just 1-0 at intermission.

"You've got to be kidding, sir!," a Ram pleaded to a referee after the official ruled someone fouled Velasco. No joke. The call stood, and the referee gave a Fresno player a yellow card for good measure.

Velasco's free kick curled beautifully left-to-right and landed less than a foot under the top bar. The goal made the score 3-1.

The Rams protested again when the referee ruled someone had fouled Jose Olivera inside the penalty area with eight minutes left to play. "You give an elbow inside the box, I'll call a foul every time," the referee responded.

Velasco responded by finishing the scoring for the day. His penalty kick landed in the same spot his first goal did.

Velasco was the best defender on the field for Hancock Tuesday. He also made some impressive drives with the ball in the first half.

"Victor Velasco could play Division I in two sports," Garcia said. Velasco kicks for Hancock's football team.

Velasco and freshman David Jauregui helped the Bulldogs deny the Rams repeatedly in the first half. In the second, Fresno's attack beat Hancock's defenders much more often.

"We didn't change anything," in the attack scheme, Solberg said. "The grass over here is much thicker than what we play on. In the first half we were trying too many short passes, knocking the ball around too much.

"In the second half, we started using more long passes, trying to use our speed more. We're very fast." Fresno repeatedly found open space on the right wing, and Hancock couldn't respond on passes from there to the middle.

Sophomore Hancock goal keeper George Hunter made the right decisions most of the time in the first half. In the second, the Rams beat him thrice.

Hunter watched Francisco Jalomo's angled shot a minute into the second half hit off the left post and then bounce in for the second goal of the game.

Hunter had no chance on the Rams' last two goals. The Rams worked the ball in close, and then Rajdeep Singh took Victor Lopez's pass and knocked a shot in from close range.

Two minutes after Velasco's penalty kick, Rivera drilled a sharply-angled left-to-right shot past Hunter and into the right corner of the goal. Tem Gutierrez earned his second assist on the play.

September 01, 2004