Palomar Men’s Soccer Defeats Orange Coast College 5-2

SAN MARCOS, CA (9/17/2024) — Palomar College men's soccer team delivered a well-rounded performance in a 5-2 victory over Orange Coast College on Tuesday night, with two of the first three goals of the match coming from headers off corner kicks. Orange Coast struck first in the 7th minute when Meyer Saad rose above the Palomar defense to head in a corner kick delivered by Gabriel Garcia, giving the home team an early 1-0 lead. However, Palomar wasted no time responding. Just two minutes later, Artem Sydorenko headed in a corner kick from Matt Esposito to equalize, leveling the score at 1-1. Palomar then took control of the match in the 32nd minute when Felix Hamm found the back of the net after a well-placed assist from Daniel Tamayo. Unlike the earlier goals, Hamm's strike came from open play, putting the Comets ahead 2-1 as the teams headed into halftime. The second half belonged to Palomar's Arturo Atilano-Gutierrez, who completed a hat trick to seal the victory. Atilano-Gutierrez scored his first goal in the 62nd minute, assisted by Felix Hamm, before doubling his tally with another finish in the 77th minute, again with Hamm setting him up. Though Orange Coast College managed to pull one back in the 83rd minute through Tai Khoshkbaririe, Atilano-Gutierrez completed his hat trick in the 89th minute off an assist from Efren Mendez, securing the 5-2 win for Palomar. The Comets will aim to carry this momentum forward as they prepare for their next matchup against Los Angeles City College on Friday at 7 p.m.