Caitlin Sparks got the San Marcos girls on the scoreboard in the fifth minute on a steal of a back-pass in front of the goal and Royals went on to a 3-0 Channel League win over Santa Barbara at home.
In the 28th minute, Zeina Matni got fouled dribbling into the Santa Barbara box, and teammate Leilani Venegas converted the subsequent penalty kick to make the score 2-0 going into halftime.
In the 77th minute, Royals freshman midfielder Cecilia ”Ceci” Mock tapped in a third goal off a free kick for the third goal.
The win improves the Royals to 1-3-2 in league play while Santa Barbara remains winless.
“This was a big win for us,” San Marcos coach Brian Ziegenhagen said. “Scoring was something we wanted to improve on during our games, and the girls really captured that moment.”
Santa Barbara coach Willie Sims said mistakes cost his team.
“We conceded two early goals from our own mistakes and that dictated the remainder of the game. After that, we could not get back into the game,” he said.
San Marcos travels to Oxnard Tuesday, for another Channel League game, while Santa Barbara plays at Dos Pueblos on the same day.
Cate Boys 2, Foothill Tech 0
After a scoreless first half, the Cate boys scored twice in the second half to beat Foothill Tech 2-0 in a Tri-Valley League matchup to start the new year.
The Rams came out aggressively after the break, creating multiple scoring opportunities that paid off in the 65th minute when sophomore Samuel Anum broke free on the right flank, outran the defense and fired a shot that was blocked by the Dragon goalie. Junior Ari Seal was there for the rebound, and pushed the ball in to give Cate a 1-0 lead.
Ten minutes later, freshman Suhuyini Abdul Nafeo connected with freshman Alex Gallegos for the second goal.
Cate is now 2-1-2 overall and 1-0-2 in league play.
“We were a little concerned with what kind of shape our team would be in after the two-week break and only one practice,” Rams coach Jorge Reynoso said. “We’ve been playing great soccer on the defensive and mid-thirds of the field but struggling to get our offense going, so it was great to finally wake up and convert some of those chances.”
The Rams host St. Bonaventure on Thursday.