Shutout secures second CCC win

A final push in the second half gave the Comets a game-winning goal in a 1-0 victory and their second win of the season in a defensive showdown against first place Napa Valley College (4-4-3 overall, 3-1-2 in the Bay Valley Conference).

Contra Costa College (2-9-1 overall, 2-2-1 in the BVC) is now just a half-game behind second place Merritt College (4-7-3 overall, 3-2-1 in the BVC).

CCC’s next game is on Friday at College of Marin at 4 p.m. The Comets lost a 3-0 non-conference game at Santa Rosa Junior College on Oct. 9.

NVC had the Comets on their heels in the first half, but both teams were evenly matched throughout the game. Comet coach Rudy Zeller made adjustments during halftime giving the team more opportunities to score.

“They were putting pressure on us in the first half, so I made some adjustments to neutralize the pressure,” Zeller said. “They had the killer instinct today.”

CCC forward Marcos Solis scored the game-winning goal at the 82 minute mark of the game, assisted by Comet’s goalkeeper Gustavo Rojas. Solis has scored five out of the last eight goals for CCC since he has been in the starting lineup.  
“It was a combination of the keeper making sure the middle was clear that gave me the goal,” Solis said.

“They took a wild shot and I saw that their D (defense) was out of place,” Rojas said.

The Comets had 14 shots on goal compared to Napa’s 20, but the Storm missed a lot of good opportunities to score throughout the game. Good defensive play and communication helped prevent NVC from scoring.

“We are more organized than before and we are doing better and better,” Comet forward Omar Arellano said. “And our communication is improving.”

Arellano said in the past the team used to just kick the ball, but that has been improved and its passing is more accurate. In the game there were some bad passes, but the turnovers were minimized in the game.