Santa Barbara High boys soccer remained undefeated on the year with a 4-0 victory over Foothill Tech on Wednesday at Peabody Stadium.
After the majority of the first half was tied at 0-0, the Dons broke through with a goal off the foot of Pietro Nascente following a strong corner pass by Pablo Desales to take a 1-0 lead into halftime.
“We came out a bit flat in the first half and we needed a little bit of energy, and we found that with our substitutes tonight,” Santa Barbara High head coach Ricardo Alcaraz said.
The Dons doubled their lead early in the second half when Desales delivered another corner pass to Irving Garcia, who finished off the shot for the 2-0 advantage.
After the lead grew to 3-0 on a Foothill Tech own goal, Santa Barbara High rounded out the scoring late in the second half on Garcia’s second goal of the night off an assist from Keoni Garcia.
“Saul Lopez and Keoni were on tonight—they provided the energy we needed in the game,” Alcaraz said.
The Dons (3-0-1) will be on the road against Newbury Park on Friday night.
Girls Soccer
Carpinteria High girls soccer pulled out a 1-0 victory over Fillmore in the Citrus Coast League opener on Wednesday.
“It is always very difficult to get a result at Fillmore but our young team was determined to get the upset,” Warrior head coach Freddy Martinez said. “Carpinteria put the pressure from the opening whistle and played some outstanding high-press soccer and collected turnovers in the attacking half to put the Flashes on their heels.”
After a defensive battle throughout, Carpinteria High finally broke the tie in the 62nd minute. Michelle Cornejo crossed a ball into the box, and Caroline Cooney came out of the pack to volley the shot into the back of the net for the lead.
The Warrior defense, led by goalkeeper Charlotte Cooney and centerbacks Vivian Huskins and Kaydance Gardner, held Foothill to just two shots on goal in the clean-sheet effort.
Caprinteria (2-0-0) will host St. Bonaventure for a non-league match on Wednesday.
Del Sol 3, San Marcos 2
The Royals couldn’t keep up with Del Sol in a non-league loss on Wednesday at Warkentin Stadium.
“We played a good game where we generated several chances and kept Del Sol in their half for large parts of the game, but we just couldn’t close out the game,” San Marcos head coach Miguel Vences said.
“Our girls did a great job in the build-up, fighting for loose balls, and combining in the final third; they did everything we asked them to do, we just didn’t get the result we wanted. We’ll learn from it and get better from it.”
Both of the Royals’ goals came courtesy of Zeina Matni, who scored off a corner-kick assist from Riley Miller and on a penalty shot.
Lompoc 2, Santa Barbara High 1
The Dons fell on the road to the Braves in a non-league match on Wednesday in Lompoc.
Lompoc was aggressive in the early stages of the game, taking a 1-0 lead and holding it until halftime.
The Braves continued to hold the momentum early in the second half, doubling its lead with another goal before the Dons could get on the board.
Santa Barbara High cut the deficit in half with a penalty goal by Ginger Winkler after Carolyn Gifford drew the penalty. However, Lompoc held onto the lead from there to earn the win.
“Carolyn Gifford’s relentless effort on defense and offense needs to be acknowledged,” Dons’ coach Willie Sims said. “She is playing with a lot of confidence and making positive contributions in our games. We can technically give her the assist for earning the PK tonight.”
Santa Barbara High (1-1-1) will host Del Sol on Friday at 5 p.m.
Cabrillo 6, Bishop Diego 0
The Cardinals dropped their home opener to Cabrillo of Lompoc on Wednesday in Santa Barbara.
“Much of the thinking behind our season went into playing as many quality opponents as we could to prepare for league play,” Bishop Diego head coach Dillan Bennett said. “Cabrillo is a skilled team and showed it today. We also have players stepping up and showing their leadership.”
The Cardinals (0-3) were led on the defensive end by Kaitlyn Garcia, while Mia Desales played a key role in the offensive effort.
“Kaitlyn Garcia was a phenom for us today, solidifying our defense and giving us great opportunities to transition into offense,” Bennett said. “Mia Desales also did a really nice job pushing the ball upfield.
“These are all aspects of the game we’ve been working on, and I can’t wait to see what gets better by Friday when we travel to Carpinteria.”
The Cardinals and Warriors will clash on Friday at 5:30 p.m. at Carpinteria High.