After a long-awaited win over rival San Diego Mesa on Tuesday, City College men’s soccer coach Milton Hidalgo was relieved that, for the first time this season, his team got a result worthy of its effort. 

“When we have our key players, we can play against anybody,” Hidalgo said after the 3-1 Pacfic Coast Athletic Conference victory.

“We could have had six, seven goals today. We were that good.” 

The Knights had a rough start to the season. The team lost all seven out-of-conference matches as they battled through injuries.

Missed opportunities in the Knights’ PCAC opener, including a missed penalty kick by team captain Dalton Kinney, resulted in a 3-2 loss to Southwestern College on Oct. 4. 

City College is ready to put the past behind it. 

“It feels a lot better, a lot of weight taken off our shoulders for sure,” Knights midfielder Erwin Hampton said. 

Hampton, who scored the team’s go-ahead goal in the second half, missed significant time last season after breaking his ankle. His debut this year was delayed when he could not immediately get clearance to play.

After four appearances, he finally found the back of the net to his own relief. 

“Everyone has been trying to get me that goal and it just hadn’t come,” Hampton said. “I feel like this is the start of something now.”   

The match started poorly for the Knights. They fell behind in the first half after a controversial player contact penalty resulted in a score. Hidalgo later drew a yellow card from the bench when he argued the call with an official.

The match quickly turned around after the break when midfielder Neftali Bojorquez scored a goal assisted by center back Victor Lopez to tie the game five minutes into the half. 

Hampton scored 10 minutes later, followed by forward Jordy Robelledo in the match’s final minutes.

The Knights hope their injury woes are behind them, and they are able to continue to put their best starters on the field the rest of the way.

“We got our people back,” Hidalgo said. “We have the best 11 that play together.”

Added Kinney: “We are just trying to play together and start building that chemistry back and work on that.” 

The captain believes chemistry will be a driving force for the team.

“Keep working, keep getting better, (and) hopefully we win the conference,” Kinney said. 

The Knights will be visiting the MiraCosta Spartans on Friday, Oct. 11 at 3 p.m. 

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Vicky is on Twitter @Vee_xo25

Sonny is on Twitter @sonnywithanoh