Irvine Valley's men's soccer ran into a tough El Camino team to start the 2022 season on Tuesday.
The Warriors made the California Community College Athletic Association state championship final four last season and were ranked No. 6 in the nation among community colleges by The United Soccer Coaches.
The knocked off the Lasers, 3-0, Tuesday at El Camino.
"Looking at the game, the final result is not a reflection of how we played," said first-year IVC coach Conor Ward said. "We gifted them a goal in the second minute. It is something we will learn from."
The Warriors outshot the Lasers, 19-10 in the contest.
ECC's Jovanny Mejia got the scoring going early after stealing the ball from the IVC goalkeeper and slotting it to the open net.
The Warriors added two goals late in the second half to put the game away.
"El Camino is a class outfit and really well coached. You can see why they are ranked No. 6 in the nation and made the final four last season," Ward said. "So putting it all into context, I'm extremely proud of the boys for their performance and going toe to toe with El Camino.
"We pushed to get an equalizer and they scored two late goals. There were still a lot of great things that happened on the pitch. It was great to see the group come together ahead of our trip to Hartnell later this week."
Irvine Valley freshman keeper Tygo Steenvoorden finished with four saves.
The Lasers are back in action on Friday in the Hartnell tournament in Salinas. IVC takes on Fresno City on Friday and then will play either Hartnell or Cerritos on Saturday.
