The Santa Barbara High boys soccer team played Santa Margarita three months earlier than they usually do, and the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 powers battled to a 1-1 tie on Saturday at Peabody Stadium.
The teams have faced off in the second round of the CIF playoffs each of the past three years.
The Dons (5-0-2) outshot Santa Margarita 10-3, but were only able to find the net on a Juan Zarate goal in the 68th minute that tied the score.
Despite the draw, Santa Barbara coach Todd Heil was pleased how his team performed against a physical opponent.
“I’m extremely proud of our performance as a team tonight,” he said. “I felt we created a lot of good scoring chances and outshot Santa Margarita 10-3. We had 8 corners to their 3. Sloan Hanson had a solid game in the back and Juan Zarate nd Owen Lambe played very well in the midfield.”
Santa Barbara travels south to take on Thousand Oaks on Tuesday.
— Noozhawk sports reporter Christian Eckert can be reached at ceckert@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports and @noozhawk. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.