Santa Ana, CA — The Vaqueros of Rancho Alamitos visited the Foothill Knights at home on a chilly Tuesday evening. This was the last of Foothill's stretch of home games and the Knights capped it with a resounding 7-0 victory over the visitors. The scoring started almost immediately in the 6th minute when senior Joey Benítez hit the back of the net on a long punt from senior goalkeeper Tommy Gunther. Sophmore Matthew Mendoza scored just 3 minutes later on a beautiful assist from junior Tyler Valdez. The ball was artfully slotted between the central defense and Mendoza put the ball away with emphasis. Valdez then added back to back goals in the 19th and 20th minutes. The first was assisted by a quality ball over the top by senior Nelson "Junior" Marmolejo and the second was a solo effort after stealing the ball from the opponent near the top of their own 18. Valdez had an amazing game and was an impact whenever he was on the pitch. Senior Rodrigo Gonzales capped the second half scoring off of an assist from junior Mitch Sampson in the 40th minute. Gonzales kicked off the scoring in the second half by an "Olympico" (a goal scored unassisted off a corner) in the 50th minute. Senior Dylan Salazar finished the game off in the 79th minute, heading the ball home off a beautiful cross from Marmolejo. It was a strong performance from the Knights but also against expectedly weaker competition. The Knights face a stronger opponent tomorrow when they play crosstown rivals Beckman on their field. The Beckman Patriots are hungry for a win coming into the match 0-3 against strong competition.