The El Camino College Warriors defeated the Long Beach City Vikings 3-1 during the Oct. 11 men’s soccer matchup.

The game was a physical affair where both teams combined for a total of 32 fouls and five yellow cards. El Camino was responsible for 19 fouls and two yellow cards.

The first goal of the game came after the Warriors’ forward, Mario Carlos, scored from 20 yards out. Carlos finished the game with two of the team’s three goals after 62 minutes of play.

After just 12 games, Carlos has knocked in 10 goals, including four game-winners. Carlos’ quick feet had once again prevailed on the field, leading the team to victory.

“First, I’m happy that the team won. And second, I’m happy I scored two goals to help the team,” Carlos said. “When you show up, you have to set an example, like working hard, staying focused, and when you do that, the rest of the team will follow.”

Warriors coach Mike Jacobson told The Union that he expects his team to be in the running for the state championship this year.

“This was a big conference win. Long Beach is a good team and well coached,” Jacobson said. “Their players are polite and competitive. But after three important points, we’re in a pretty good spot.”

As he was having a scratch cleaned by medical staff, Vikings midfielder Jonathan Grado said that he played all 90 minutes with high intensity and physicality.

“Honestly, we could’ve won this game,” Grado said. “We lost due to the ball not going behind the net. We struggled a little, but we’ll get them again.”

The Vikings and Warriors will face off again in November, during their conference tournament.

The Warriors (10-2) will head to LA Harbor (2-10) for a conference matchup on Friday, Oct. 14 at 5 p.m.

Editor’s Note: Updated embedded photo placement on Oct. 13 at 11:56 p.m.