It was a less than ideal situation for the San Bernardino Valley College men's soccer team.
Defender Salvador Guerrero was sent off for his role in a violent collision along the sidelines during the third minute of Tuesday's game against Victor Valley College. Down to 10 players, the Wolverines had every reason to play not to lose.
Instead, the shorthanded Wolverines took control of play for the better part of the next 87-plus minutes on a blustery day inside SBVC Stadium. And in the end, playing with only nine men on the field after another ejection, it was SBVC that walked away with a 2-1 win over VVC.
SBVC, playing into the wind, had troubles generating chances in the first half, but was solid on the defensive end, going to the break tied at zero, with both teams only generating three shots. But with the wind at their backs in the second half, the Wolverines got more aggressive.
It paid off in the 65th minute. Dawit Cloar took a ball on the right side and found Ebrima Njie with a quick through ball into the middle of the area. Njie settled the ball as he turned, and fired a rocket past Damian Navas for a 1-0 lead.
But VVC answered back off a corner kick not long after Brian Orozco was shown his second yellow card of the game. Off the corner, the ball was sent in to the middle of the SBVC area, where Sebastian Nolasco fired a bicycle kick into the back of the SBVC net to tie the score.
The wind factored into the game-winner not long after. Blake Dismang chested forward a long ball from Jason Salazar just onside. Dismang carried the ball on a break, and beat Navas with a blast from just inside the penalty area.
In the end, the Wolverines outshot the Rams 17-4, with Navas making five saves. Arturo Magana made one save for the Wolverines, as he grabbed a long free kick carried by the wind toward his net in the first half.
