The CCC Raiders spent the weekend in southern Colorado for a pair of games. On Friday, CCC met Otero Junior College in La Junta, followed by a Saturday match at Trinidad State Junior College. A recap of both games follows. The Raiders are back in action on Tuesday, Sept. 6, with a home game against Northeast CC at 4 p.m.
Game 1: at Otero JC
The Raiders put a strong fight against the Rattlers before falling, 3-1. CCC scored the first goal of the game off a volley by freshman defender Jacob Orellana for a 1-0 advantage. Otero tied the game at one apiece with one minute left in the first half.
The game remained deadlocked until eight minutes to play in regulation when the Rattlers scored on a free kick to go up 2-1. Otero then added an insurance goal with some two minutes remaining for the 3-1 final.
"I am very proud of how we played against Otero," said CCC head coach Dave Silva. "Being able to play so well against a team ranked in the top 10 at their home in the high elevation of Colorado took a lot of effort."
Game 2: at Trinidad State JC
The Trojans took advantage of CCC playing for a second straight day against a top 10 team in the heat and high elevation of Colorado in posting a shutout, 9-0. Raiders' goalkeeper Carlos Dominguez played very well.
"The Otero game took too much energy from our team," said CCC head coach Dave Silva. "We didn't have enough time to recuperate and acclimate to the 6,000 foot altitude. Trinidad State is a very athletic team."