Chaffey Pushes Norco to the Wire in First Conference Setback

The Chaffey College men's soccer team saw its unbeaten conference run come to an end Friday afternoon, falling 2-1 to Norco College. Despite a strong defensive effort and a second-half equalizer, the Panthers were unable to overcome two penalty conversions by the Mustangs and dropped their first Inland Empire Athletic Conference match of the season.

After a scoreless opening half, Norco struck first in the 47^th minute after a penalty kick conversion to make it 1-0. Chaffey responded with composure, and in the 71^st minute, Mateo Soria leveled the match by finishing a well-placed pass from Ryan Pruitt. The Mustangs regained the lead late in the 85^th minute after converting on a second penalty kick to seal the result.

Goalkeeper Fernando Monteon finished with two saves, and Chaffey held even in overall shot attempts (3-3) and stayed compact defensively throughout the match but couldn't find a late equalizer.

With the loss, Chaffey is now 3-1 in the Inland Empire Athletic Conference and will now prepare for travel to the College of the Desert on Tuesday, Oct. 21. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.