No Clear Favorite as OEC Men's Soccer Starts

With the start of Orange Empire Conference play in men's soccer kicking off this week, the jury is still out on who will finish the regular season on top of the mountain.

So many times, a team near the bottom of the standings at the start of conference play has come alive and surprised the field and with such a competitive balance throughout the OEC, anything can happen over the next two months.

So, in alphabetical order, here is a brief recap of each team as they head into conference play, which begins on Tuesday.

CYPRESS (2-4-1) – After starting the season 0-3-1, the Chargers have found some offensive spark of late and have posted 4-1 wins over Moorpark and College of the Desert, going 2-1 down the stretch.

Freshman Sanson Lopez leads the Cypress offense with three goals and two assists, while teammate Hawe Yonas has two goals and an assist. Lopez enjoyed his time in Palm Desert, notching three goals and an assist against the Roadrunners.

In goal, Austin Cummins has seen the majority of action and has notched 17 saves to go along with a 2.70 goals-against average.

FULLERTON (2-5-0) – In a sport where the number "0" plays a big factor in final scores, the Hornets are still looking for any type of shutout – win or loss – to their 2015 resume. A break or two away from a much better record, Fullerton has three one-goal decisions, including a 5-4 heartbreaker to Rio Hondo and a 3-2 setback to Southwestern before capping off nonconference play with a solid 3-1 win over L.A. Harbor.

Hornets' forward Eduin Munguia leads the team with five goals, collecting a hat trick against Rio Hondo in the season-opener and scoring twice more against L.A. Harbor on Sept. 22. Close behind is freshman teammate Brian Pacheco (four goals, two assists) and sophomore Ruben Navarro (two goals, two assists), giving the Hornets plenty of offensive firepower up front.

Freshman goalkeeper Juan Carlos Ramirez has notched 32 saves in 495 minutes of action to go along with a 2.89 goals-against average.

GOLDEN WEST (4-1-2) – Last year's OEC champs, the Rustlers are picking up where they left off with only one loss in seven nonconference matchups. Included in that impressive list of wins is a 4-0 drubbing of defending state champion Cerritos College on Sept. 18.

Entering OEC play, the Rustlers hold the biggest advantage in goals for and goals against, outscoring the opposition, 18-8 through seven matches.

Eleven different GWC players have scored at least one goal, with sophomore Max Hubert leading the way with three goals and two assists and freshmen Joshua Featherston and Mark Hernandez adding three goals and one assist each.

The goalie combination of Johnny Garcia and Ignacio Monteon has combined for 36 saves and three shutouts. Garcia's 0.67 GAA is tops among all OEC netminders.

IRVINE VALLEY (3-2-2) – A fast start by the Lasers in 2015 (3-0-2) has stuttered a bit with back-to-back losses to Hartnell (3-2) and Rio Hondo (2-0), but IVC looks ready to take on all comers once the OEC schedule kicks off. 

Freshman forward Toby Waterman and freshman midfielder Jose Rivera have been the mainstays of the Lasers' offense. Waterman leads all OEC players with 14 points (five goals, four assists), while Rivera is tied with Waterman and Fullerton's Munguia for the conference lead in goals with five.

In goal, the IVC tandem of Manuel Zamora and Hagen Truniger have allowed 11 goals with 38 saves and a 1.57 GAA and each have earned one shutout along the way.

ORANGE COAST (1-4-1) – For the 2015 Pirates, the OEC portion of the season can't come soon enough as a rough nonconference run has plagued the club. On the plus side, Coast is tied with GWC and Santiago Canyon in goals allowed (eight), but is dead last in goals scored (three).

OCC's lone win – a 2-0 victory over East Los Angeles – showed the rest of the field that the Pirates can beat anyone at any time.

 Isacc Campos leads the Pirates with two goals, while Peter Marquez has a goal and an assist. In goal, sophomore netminder Ryan Brown has allowed eight goals in 540 minutes of play with a pair of shutouts.

NORCO (2-3-1) – Much like Chargers, the Mustangs come into OEC play following a strong win, a 4-0 shutout over College of the Desert, nearly doubling their goal total in just one match.

Norco is led by a pair of talented freshman forwards, Elias Ortiz (four goals) and Denny Trammel (three goals), while fellow first-year players Israel Duque and Johnny Menjivar each have a goal and an assist.

The goalie situation is still up in the air, but look for freshman Francisco Ayala to get the early nod. Ayala is 1-0-1 with just two goals allowed in 180 minutes of action.

SANTA ANA (1-4-2) – After starting the season with an impressive 4-0 win at Palomar, the Dons have struggled, going 0-4-2 in their last six contests, but enter OEC play off a hard-fought 2-2 tie against San Bernardino Valley.

Freshman forward David Yepez leads the SAC offense with three goals and one assist, while first-year teammates Carlos Barrios (two goals, one assist) and Dong Beom Seo (two goals) have also been a nice addition to the Dons' offense.

The goalie tandem of Ismael Rivera and Andres Figueroa have combined for 19 saves and 12 goals allowed in just over 600 minutes of play.

SANTIAGO CANYON (2-2-2) – As evidenced by the record, it's been an up-and-down start to the 2015 season for the Hawks, but enter OEC play with a pair of hard-fought 1-1 draws against two of the top teams in the region – East Los Angeles and San Bernardino Valley.

Goals have been hard to come by for SCC – only Orange Coast (3) has fewer goals than the Hawks (8) entering this week's action.

Albert Chaves is SCC's lone multi-goal scorer with two, while sophomores Kyle Pizano and David Zavala each have a goal and two assists.

SCC's sophomore netminder, Ulises Serafin has been strong, allowing just eight goals in six matches with one shutout.