San Marcos girls soccer celebrated its Senior Night with a 3-0 Channel League victory over Pacifica on Tuesday at Warkentin Stadium.
The Royals have now won three straight league matchups and hold a 4-4-2 league record. They are in fifth place, just one game out of fourth and an automatic CIF-SS playoff spot.
“Today, we anticipated having the ball for most of the game, so it was just a matter of finishing our chances and being able to find the right spaces to target when pushing the ball in their half,” San Marcos head coach Miguel Vences said.
“This is the team’s second shutout in a row and that’s a reflection of how the team has made the adjustments to play a complete game.”
The lone goal of the first half came on a goal by Zeina Matni, who fired a shot from outside the box into the back of the net.
In the second half, Kate Selby recorded a brace for the Royals with a penalty goal and a score off an assist from Sophie Rodriguez to bring the game to its final score of 3-0.
San Marcos honored the senior class of Matni, Selby, Cecilia Mock, Rio Chesluk, Kimberly Arias, Susie Leon-Catalan, Stephanie Carranza and Harlyn Griffin.
“Great team effort today, we are glad to get a win for our seniors on their senior night,” Vences said. “They’ve all played a key role in creating a strong culture for our program during their time here and we’re proud of the way they’ve represented our school and our community during the past four years.”
The Royals will look to keep their momentum rolling into a road meeting with Rio Mesa on Thursday.
Dos Pueblos 0, Ventura 0
The Chargers and Cougars ended in a scoreless draw in a crucial Channel League matchup on Tuesday in Ventura.
Dos Pueblos is now 6-2-2 and sits in second place in the league, while Ventura is now 4-3-3 in fourth place.
The Charger defense stood strong all night, anchored by goalkeeper Darlene Aguilar.
The tandem of Kacey Hurley, Sophie Rodriguez, Anastasia Brunner and Alma Basave excelled on the defensive end, and the midfield trio of Celeste Alcaraz, Paige Ferro and Jenny Polunets shined as well.
Bishop Diego 0, Dunn 0
The Cardinals and Earwigs battled their way to a scoreless draw on Tuesday in Santa Barbara.
“Dunn came out and played a physical game, more physical than we’ve seen this season,” Bishop Diego head coach Dillan Bennett said. “They had size and strength, so we had a hard time creating meaningful, controlled possessions.
“Overall, we had a few scoring opportunities, but our ball control and spacing let us down today. We’ll get back out there and practice hard tomorrow before we host Coastal Christian on Thursday.”
The Cardinals are now 2-7-2 overall and 2-1-2 in Frontier League action ahead of their Thursday matchup with Coastal Christian at 3 p.m.
Santa Barbara High 1, Oxnard 1
The Dons recorded a Channel League draw with the Yellow Jackets on Tuesday at Peabody Stadium.
“Oxnard is one of the top teams in the Channel League because they are disciplined, organized and well coached,” Santa Barbara High head coach Willie Sims said. “For us to come out and play toe to toe with them shows our team’s resilience, competitive spirit and overall talent.
The Yellow Jackets got out to a hot start, scoring in the first five minutes of the game for the 1-0 lead.
That one-score lead held for the vast majority of the game, as the Dons finally broke through in the final minutes of the game.
Santa Barbara’s Madeleine Savellano played a long ball into the box, which bounced off the Oxnard goalkeeper to Kimberly Monroy, who tapped it in for the equalizer.
“Our attacking trio, Kimberly Monroy, Lanaya Solis and Paloma Valenzuela, are creating more chances and building chemistry up top,” Sims said. “Our midfield sustained possession and our defense kept us in the game tonight. Definitely one of our better showings this season.”
The Dons hold an overall record of 1-8-5 and a league mark of 0-7-3.