Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Yavapai College

The Official Athletics Site of the Yavapai College Roughriders
David Murillo
Bill Leyden

Men’s Soccer Stuns Eastern Arizona On The Road

10/7/2023 9:42:00 PM

THATCHER, Ariz. – Playing the Eastern Arizona College Gila Monsters for the first time in program history on Saturday night, the Yavapai College men's soccer team won a thriller on the road after surviving one of the wildest finishes of the season. 

"That's a great team win against a great team," Head Coach Chris Houser said after the game. "I'm proud of the way we came out and played on the road today and I'm proud of the way that we responded all night long. We will continue to work to get to where we want to be." 

The 3-2 victory over EAC pushes the Roughriders to 7-4 overall and 6-3 in conference games this season as they continue to battle for a region playoff spot. 

Seven minutes into the contest, sophomore goalkeeper Rushon Sandy was tested. EAC lined up for a free kick that wound up ricocheting on goal. Luckily, Sandy dove to his left to make the save and push the ball out of danger. 

20 minutes later, however, EAC did find the back of the net and took a 1-0 lead just after the first-half water break. 

The theme of the night for the Roughriders, however, was resilience and it showed right after the Gila Monster score. Two minutes after the goal, freshman midfielder Kodee Karcher lined up for a free kick close to midfield, looking to give YC a scoring opportunity. 

Karcher's boot wound up being perfectly placed and found the head of freshman forward Jorge Quintero who headed the ball past the EAC keeper to tie the match at 1-1. 



Karcher collected his second assist of the season on the play while Quintero tallied his team-leading ninth goal of the season. 

After the teams went into halftime tied 1-1, the Roughriders caught a break as a handball in the box gave them a penalty kick with 42 minutes still left to play. 

Sophomore midfielder Austin Pearcy sized up the PK and after the whistle, sent a rocket past the right side of the Gila Monster keeper, giving YC a 2-1 advantage with Pearcy's fourth score of the season. 



After the go-ahead goal from YC, there was little action to make note of, until a raucous finish began to ensue with 10 minutes left to play. 

With desperation mounting, the Gila Monsters were able to find the equalizer with eight minutes left as one of the EAC's forwards got in behind the YC defense and finished the play off with a score. 

After the game-tying score, the sense of urgency from both squads showed in the action as the Roughriders and Gila Monsters weaved their way up and down the field, trading scoring chances by the second. 

With six minutes to go, Sandy made another incredible save while allowing no rebound attempt. 25 seconds later, his save was answered as freshman forward David Murillo sent a booming shot on goal, only to be saved by the Gila Monster keeper. 

With a tie looming for both teams, the Roughriders stayed resilient and had one last play in them with two minutes left in the match. 

This time, Pearcy pushed the ball upfield, beating the EAC defense and getting to the corner. After his initial cross attempt redirected back to him, Pearcy crossed it once more to the front of the goal and found the foot of the aforementioned Murillo. 

Murillo would not be denied a second time and kicked the ball with his right foot to the left side of the EAC net, leaving the keeper with no chance and giving the Roughriders a 3-2 lead with two minutes and seven seconds left on the clock. 



Murillo's third score of the season (and Pearcy's third assist) stood as the game winner as YC was able to hold EAC off the scoresheet in the closing minutes to clinch the 3-2 win. 

In goal, Sandy collected his fourth win of the season. 

Up Next
The Roughriders are back in action on Tuesday, October 10, in Phoenix, Arizona, where they will take on the South Mountain Community College Cougars with gametime set for 3:30 p.m.
 
– D.J. Irwin
Print Friendly Version