Following a 4-0 defeat by Cerritos College on Friday, the El Camino College men’s soccer team bounced back with a 4-4 draw today, on the road, against Orange Coast College, head coach Michael Jacobson said.

“It was a crazy game,” Jacobson said in disbelief. “We put ourselves in a hole…we started the game very well. We had control of the game and then we gave up goals.”

Jacobson said his team began the game in shock as they went into half-time down 4-0.

In the last 15 minutes of the game, EC scored four goals to earn one point on the road, Jacobson said.

Jacobson said forward Kevin Negrete was the ‘Player of the Game’ after he scored a hat-trick and the game-tying goal.

“To get three goals is great and hopefully this is a game that will allow him to open up. He’s been searching for his fitness, he’s been searching for his game. He’s a very very good player and hopefully, this will allow the team to open up and do some more damage in this league,” Jacobson said.

Negrete tied the game after midfielder Francisco Gutierrez crossed the ball to Negrete who then curled the ball in from 22 yards out, Jacobson said.

Midfielder Jean-Pierre Dejean Macksa contributed to the comeback with a goal of his own, Jacobson said.

“Credit to our guys. We came back in the second half, came back and tied it. It was remarkable. [We] came back four times. We could’ve won the game but I’m glad we got a result against a team that was pretty good,” Jacobson said.

Prior to the defeat by Cerritos College, the EC men’s soccer team was unbeaten for six games for the first time since 2015, Jacobson said.

As to what the team can improve on, Jacobson said, “We need to be sharper in the back, sharper in the goal.”

The EC men’s soccer team will play their next game, on the road against East Los Angeles College on Friday, Oct. 12 at 6 p.m.

Updated for accuracy on Wednesday, Oct. 10 at 1:23 p.m.