San Marcos boys soccer picked up its second win in as many days with a 2-0 victory over Pioneer Valley on Thursday at Warkentin Stadium.
“Pioneer Valley is a solid team with size up top and in the back and skill all over,” San Marcos head coach Paul McLean said. “This was a great test for our group to figure out how to unlock an organized back line.”
The two defenses took center stage in the opening half, as they battled to a 0-0 draw heading into halftime.
The Royals broke the scoreless tie midway through the second half when Josh Canto played a ball through the Panther defense to Ricky Olivo, who scored to give his team a 1-0 advantage.
Later in the second half, Oscar Alaniz played Canto into the box and he finished off the goal to bring the game to its final score of 2-0 in favor of San Marcos.
“Josh Canto was outstanding defensively as he broke up plays all game,” McLean said. “Then he went and assisted a beautiful through ball to Ricky up top and then finished his own chance in the final minutes. He was certainly our man of the match.
“In addition, birthday boy and captain Wes Monroy was outstanding as he led our back line to a shutout.”
The Royals (2-0) will return to the pitch with a road matchup against Santa Maria High on Saturday, Dec. 2.
Laguna Blanca 5, Lompoc 0
The Owls began their season with a lopsided victory over the Braves on Thursday in Lompoc.
“Laguna Blanca played well and composed,” Laguna Blanca head coach Rick Rodriguez said.
Baylor Wilson kicked off the scoring in the fourth minute of the game, finding the back of the net off an assist from Issac Duron to take an early 1-0 lead.
Just 11 minutes later, Wilson got back on the board following an assist by Josh Gomez Loper to double the advantage to 2-0.
Wilson completed his first-half hat trick with another goal off a pass from Duron to extend the lead to 3-0 heading into halftime.
Lompoc turned up its intensity in the second half, but Beckett Smyth and Finlay Sutherland anchored a strong defensive effort to keep the Braves off the board. Meanwhile, Enzo Vinoly recorded the clean sheet in the goal.
Wilson’s stellar night continued in the 52nd minute when he scored his fourth goal of the night on Duron’s third assist of the match to make it a 4-0 advantage.
Kevin Castillo rounded out the scoring in the 78th minute with a goal off a ricochet to bring the game to its final score of 5-0.