Any team that gives up two first half goals and goes a man down in the second half will have its work cut out.
Dos Pueblos put in the necessary effort on Tuesday, managing to sweat out a 2-2 result at Oxnard.
Down 2-0, Eduardo Cortez buried a penalty kick just before halftime to give the Chargers life. Brenden Tangel brought DP even 10 minutes into the second half with a header off a free kick from the corner.
But Jonathan Cruz’s red card in the 60th minute put the Chargers a man-down for the final 20 minutes, forcing Casey Donahue and DP’s defense to cover extra ground.
“He played a great match in the back,” DP head coach Tovi Eliasen said of Donahue, a senior defender. “Even in the first half, he was the guy who stood out.”
“The fight from the guys to hold on was good, that took a lot of effort,” continued Eliasen.
The Chargers, now 3-1-2, play Oxnard again on the first day of the Buena Tournament later this month. First is another road game on Thursday at Newbury Park.
