GCC beats Imperial Valley 4-1: Daniel Meza-Gonzalez nets two goals

On a beautiful Friday afternoon Sept. 3 at Sartoris Field, all of the woes of a year lost to COVID-19 and the health and safety protocols that followed were nowhere to be seen as the GCC men's soccer team beat visiting Imperial Valley College 4-1. The Glendale players smiled and whooped and hollered and the joy of just playing was clearly evident all game long.

"We had fun and we celebrated, not just the win but playing the game with each other," said Daniel Meza-Gonzalez whose pair of first half goals helped stake the Vaqs to a 3-1 halftime lead. "It was a great experience for me personally aside from the goals, to play pain free and just run full out without fear of injury.''

The pair of goals by Meza-Gonzalez, the first that gave the home squad a 1-0 lead and the second that put them ahead at 2-1 after IVC tied the game, and one more by Juanpablo Olmos gave the Vaqs a lead they would not relinquish. A fourth goal in the second half by Danny Martinez accounted for the 4-1 final score.

Glendale hosts Pasadena City College Tuesday, Sept. 7 at 5 p.m. at Sartoris Field and plays at Los Angeles City College Friday, Sept. 10 at 6 p.m.