Santa Barbara boys soccer couldn’t overcome a late 2-0 deficit and ultimately fell to Moorpark by a score of 2-1 in the season opener on Wednesday.
Moorpark started quickly, scoring the first goal of the contest in the 18th minute on a tap-in following a cross into the box.
“Moorpark came out with more energy than us and capitalized on a mistake in midfield,” Dons coach Ricardo Alcaraz said. “But I thought we reacted well and dominated the rest of the half.”
In fact, the rest of the first half was scoreless as Moorpark took the 1-0 lead into the break.
The Dons then found some success offensively to begin the second half, threatening around the box. However, they couldn’t find the back of the net.
Moorpark doubled its lead thanks to an own-goal by Santa Barbara in the 70th minute.
That lead was too much to overcome, but the Dons did crack the scoreboard in the 89th minute when Josue Ventura found Jesus Miranda for a header goal.
“This was a good test for our team, we obviously don’t think the result shows how the game went, we just couldn’t put the ball away tonight,” Alcaraz said. “But I like how there is no quit in our team. They fought till the end.”
Alex Vasquez, Eric Guzman and Brandon Rios all turned in solid performances in the loss.
Santa Barbara (0-1) will hit the road to take on St. Francis on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
