Irvine Valley's men's soccer team starts play in the always tough Hartnell College Tournament on Friday in Salinas.
The Lasers (1-0) open up against Lake Tahoe on Friday at 11 a.m. The tournament runs through Sunday.
Lake Tahoe was one of four teams to make the state championship tournament last season. It lost to eventual state winner Oxnard, 1-0, in the semifinals.
Lake Tahoe has a record of 1-1-1 overall so far this year. it opened with a 1-1 tie against Clovis last Friday, defeated Mendocino, 1-0 on Saturday and then lost to Canada, 2-1 on Tuesday.
British forward Ieuan Thomas has two goals so far for Lake Tahoe.
With a win, Irvine Valley would move on to play in the semifinals on Saturday at 2 p.m. against the winner of San Diego Mesa and Fresno City. A loss would send IVC into a consolation game on Saturday at 10 a.m. The championship game is slated for 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Irvine Valley, the defending Orange Empire Conference champion, finished the 2015 season ranked fifth in the state and ninth in the nation.
Irvine Valley began its 2016 with a 2-0 win over El Camino last Saturday at home.
The Lasers return all-Orange Empire Conference players Albert Chavez, Jose Rivera, Connor Elder, Jose Gamboa and Joseph Ferguson along with key defensive player Marcos Cervantes and 2014 leading scorer Sean Goode to this year's team.
Goode and Rivera each had a goal and Gamboa and Ferguson each provided an assist in IVC's first win over El Camino.
