In a hard-fought battle, Rio Hondo College played No. 4 nationally-ranked Mt. San Antonio College to a 1-1 tie on Tuesday in Whittier. The South Coast Conference South Division draw moved the Roadrunners to 7-2-3 overall and 1-1-1 in division play.
After a scoreless deadlock in the opening half, Rio Hondo's offense finally came alive in the second.
In the 60th minute, Jose Maderos scored off the assist from Mauricio Sanchez to put the Roadrunners out in front. But 17 minutes later, Mt. SAC got the equalizer, getting an unassisted goal from Jason Rocha in the 77th.
Both goalkeepers played well in the contest as Rio Hondo's Jose Paredes posted nine saves and the Mounties' Edwyn Gutierrez had six.
Mt. SAC's record moved to 8-1-2 overall and 1-0-1 in the SCC North. The Mounties were coming off a double-overtime win over previous No. 1 nationally-ranked Richland College of Texas.
Up next for the Roadrunners, Rio Hondo travels to face Pasadena City College next Tuesday (Oct. 10) at 2 p.m. in a SCC North Division game.