MESA, Ariz. -- The No. 12-ranked Yavapai College men's soccer team took care of business in its first road contest of the season, defeating the Mesa Community College Thunderbirds 4-2 while moving its overall record to 3-1 on the season. 

"It's never an easy game against Mesa and they have a quality group of players that created problems for us in transition," Head Coach Andre Luciano said after the win. "I felt we were a little undisciplined at times, but when we were in control and looked to play one and two touch, we were effective moving the ball and creating chances."

Yavapai wasted no time in this one and scored just two minutes into the game. Sophomore forward Christopher Cornn sent a cross-pass in front of the net, watched it get by a defender and then saw sophomore forward Dauda Woodruff bury the ball into the right side of the net for his second goal of the season and a 1-0 lead. 

The Thunderbirds then wasted no time in tying the contest up, scoring just two minutes after the opening goal on a free-kick that was headed and then tapped into the back of the Roughrider net. 

Tied 1-1 with approximately 26 minutes to go in the first half, the Roughriders took the lead for good on freshman midfielder Michal Mojzis' first score of the year. After a throw-in, freshman Ben Rivera threaded the needle perfectly on a pass to Mojzis in front of the net who then tipped it in off of the right-post. 

After the team's went into halftime with Yavapai still leading 2-1, the team's traded scoring opportunities for the first-part of the second-half. 

With roughly 23 minutes left in the match, the Thunderbirds had their best chance to tie the match. After a throw-in from Mesa, sophomore goalkeeper Hudson Bodily watched the ball bounce around frantically in front of the net before a Mesa leg took a shot-on-goal. With no reaction time, Bodily stuck his left hand up and made the save, preserving the one-goal lead for the Roughriders. 

Approximately 10 minutes after the save, the Roughriders scored an insurance goal to go up 3-1. Freshman defender Andy Mata tipped a ball out of the air to freshman forward Jesse Maldonado who flashed his speed to the middle of the field and then sent a bullet to the top-right corner of the net for his third goal of the season. 

With a commanding two-goal lead, the Roughriders scored once more with seven minutes remaining in the match. After a corner-kick, Woodruff headed the ball up in the air, sophomore forward Josue Martinez kicked the ball to the other side of the net and sophomore forward Jakob Larson finished the play with a header to the back of the net for his first goal of the season. Martinez took home the assist on the play. 

The Thunderbirds scored the final goal of the match with two minutes to play, bringing the final score to 4-2. 

Up Next
Yavapai's next match is scheduled for Saturday at 12:30 p.m. against South Mountain Community College in Phoenix, Arizona.