No. 5 Roadrunners Hammer No. 8 LSU-Eunice
On Monday, the Roadrunner men's soccer team learned it had made an impressive jump in the NJCAA Division I national rankings, with AC moving from No. 8 to No. 5 following a pair of impressive, season-opening wins in Week 1.
This past week, the 'Runners showed they're worthy of such lofty regards.
AC began the week with a hard-fought road win at Paris Junior College, taking the 3-2 win on a late goal (83rd minute) from Elias Taj to seal the match. Earlier, Mario Bedford managed to catch the Dragon keeper out of the net and lofted a shot over the defense and into the net; and AC's Patricio Villalobos scored on a direct kick in the 48th minute, ripping his kick past both the Paris wall and the keeper.
AC then faced its toughest challenge of the young season on Friday, hosting the No. 8 LSU-Eunice Bengals – a team that has traditionally given the Roadrunners fits.
The only "fits" taking place on Friday were the ways the AC offense managed to fit the ball into the net in an impressive 4-0 win in front of the home crowd.
With the teams waging their typical, physical battle throughout the first half, the score remained level until Filliph Kamfjord took a beautiful cross from teammate Samuel Bouable and tucked the shot away for a 1-0 lead with just 33 seconds remaining before the break.
In the second half, the relentless Roadrunner attack broke all the way through the LSU-E defense. Bouable – who would finish the match with three assists – fed Unathi Radebe for a goal in the 60th minute. AC's Elias Taj received a sliding pass from Kamfjord across the box for the 3-0 lead; and Eldon Reneau capped the scoring with a beauty of a lob over the Bengal keeper despite having a defender dragging him down from behind.
The Roadrunners (4-0) get a break this week before hitting the road for some key matches. AC travels to Tyler Junior College on Tuesday, Sept. 17 and to Blinn College on Friday, Sept. 20.
The 'Runners' next home match is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 24 against Ranger College. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.