San Marcos boys soccer suffered a 2-0 non-league loss to Santa Maria on Tuesday night in Santa Maria.
The Royals (2-1) surrendered two goals in the opening half and couldn’t come from behind to notch their first loss of the young season.
San Marcos got strong performances from Ricky Olivo and Luis Campos, who came close with several scoring chances in the second half.
“Santa Maria is a strong team with lots of players who swarm the ball,” San Marcos head coach Paul McLean said. “We thought our response in the second half was solid with a few different adjustments.
“Ricky Olivo was dangerous all night on the dribble and in space. We learned a lot about how to play through adversity; it is always the best teacher.”
The Royals will host Newbury Park for another non-league matchup on Thursday at 6:45 p.m.
Girls Soccer
Bishop Diego dropped a non-league matchup with Villanova Prep by a score of 7-1 on Tuesday in Ojai.
“Today was a step in the right direction for our team,” Cardinals’ head coach Dillan Bennett said. “Wins have been hard to come by in the last year or so, so our goals have been set incrementally.
“Today, we were able to get more in-game experience for our new players, and we scored our first goal, so we are excited to continue achieving our goals.”
The lone Bishop Diego goal came courtesy of Lindsay Doyle, who scored off a corner kick set piece.
“Last year, we barely had enough players to field a team,” Bennett said. “With 24 players and 13 of whom are underclassmen, we have a strong future we’re looking to build. We have strong core leadership out of the returning players, and we’re continuing to learn more about each other and who we are.
“If you look at our schedule, we’re playing 22 games this year. We’re looking to get as many game-like reps for the team as possible as we prepare for league play, our first win of the season, and ultimately, a CIF-SS Playoff bid to the postseason.”
The Cardinals (0-2) will host Cabrillo of Lompoc on Wednesday at 3 p.m.