SAN MARCOS — Palomar continued its fight to retain the top position in the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference (PCAC), securing a 6-1-1 record with its 6-2 rout of the Imperial Valley Desert Warriors on Oct. 21.
The Comets started off on the back foot after the Desert Warriors struck first in the 22nd minute — an all-too familiar position, as their past three wins came after going down by at least one goal.
Three minutes later Jakub Kozlowski (#9) was fouled and bent a direct kick around Imperial Valley’s wall to tie the game. The Comets took a 2-1 lead soon after when Felix Hamm (#10) blasted a shot from the top of the goal box.
Ismael Zavala (#7) scored the third unanswered goal for Palomar after he was tripped from behind in the penalty area. With confidence, Zavala launched his penalty kick into the top left of the goal.
“I was a little nervous, honestly, but I knew I had to stay composed,” Zavala said. “As soon as that whistle blew, I made sure to stay calm, take deep breaths, and just put it away.”
Before the first half ended, Palomar’s defense got separated in the penalty area and surrendered a wide-open goal — the final opportunity Imperial Valley was allowed as the Comets’ back half became impenetrable in the second half.
“At halftime, we had a big announcement from coach and some players that it’s unacceptable to give up so many goals, so we tried to keep it really clean in the back,” Jonatan Maelicke (#23) said.
Palomar’s offense continued to penetrate, however, and Kozlowski increased Palomar’s lead to 4-2 with a double-assist from Hamm and Dylan Bissember (#24) amid a chaotic goal box.
Despite a two-goal advantage, the Comets’ pace did not wane until the final whistle.
Nikola Ilic (#19) subbed in at the 82nd minute and immediately made his presence known, scoring twice from midrange before the end. In less than 10 minutes of play, Ilic tied Kozlowski for most goals in the game.
“I wasn’t thinking about scoring goals, I was just keeping the momentum, trying to get inside, and as coach says, fresh legs can make a change,” Ilic said. “My goals, I want to congratulate Jo-Jo [Maelicke] here and the other to Dylan [Bissember] for the assists. It was pure team effort.”
The Comets hadn’t scored less than three goals since conference play began, but they were shut out by Cuyamaca 3-0 on Oct. 17. They showed resilience and determination following the loss and surpassed their single-game scoring record in the 6-2 victory over Imperial Valley.
The Comets are in a three-way gridlock with Cuyamaca and MiraCosta atop the PCAC standings; each remaining game will be crucial in determining the conference champion. Their next test will be against Southwestern at 6 p.m. on Oct. 24 at Palomar College.
“You always gotta fight and be ready to play hard whether you are down or not, but there is a lot to be said about the quality of a team that can come back, stay together as a team, and just fight,” Maelicke said.
