SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The Santa Barbara City College Men’s Soccer team (11-5-4, 6-3-1) ended the regular season with a late, dramatic 2-1 win hosting Allan Hancock (9-10-2, 3-7) on Sophomore Night Tuesday at La Playa Stadium.

Four sophomores were involved in the two goals, including center back Mario Romero who headed home the stoppage-time winner—just his third goal in two years as a Vaquero.

“Mario’s had opportunities like that all season and skied them over the net,” Head Coach Alex Zermeno joked. “But hey, it’s a great time to make a difference. I’m so proud of him for getting that moment.”

Santa Barbara is a virtual lock to receive a postseason berth, but will be unsure whether they are hosting or traveling for their first-round matchup until the bracket is released over the weekend.

As for this game, it was a chaotic but thrilling end to the year, especially the second half. Early on, though, the Vaqueros had the majority of the possession and field position, but created little with it. Hancock had two shots in particular that came close in the opening half hour, but they both went wide of SBCC goalie Eric Cruz‘s posts.

Santa Barbara deservedly opened the scoring in the 31st minute. Cristiano Alvarez took advantage of a Hancock giveaway at the back and carried the ball into the box. In prime shooting position, he selflessly squared it across goal to Jose Ramirez who drilled it into the back of the net for a 1-0 Vaquero lead.

But Hancock was quick to equalize. In the 35th minute, Cruz made an incredible one-on-one save off a Vaquero defensive miscue. However, the visitors recycled the chance, and the second attempt snuck by Cruz and in off his right post to tie the game. The 1-1 scoreline would hold into halftime.

Mark Salazar came close right out of the break. His deflected shot was saved for a corner. About 15 minutes later, Alvarez’s header from a corner was wide.

Around the 65th minute is when the chaos began. Substitute goalie Isaac Ortega saved what would have been an absolute worldie from Hancock’s Marvin Lopez on the half volley from roughly 30 yards out. But a minute later, Ortega was walking off the pitch.

While about to punt it out of his own box, he got into a brief altercation with Hancock’s Joe Barilone. The referee sent off Ortega and gave Barilone a yellow.

The 10-man Vaqueros almost immediately got redemption. Diego Gonzalez won a penalty in the 71st minute, getting a touch just by the Hancock goalie before being taken down inside the area. Gonzalez took the penalty he won, but his shot to the goalie’s low right corner was saved, preserving the tie.

With a few minutes of regulation remaining, the Vaqueros nearly scored their elusive winning goal. Right back Dean Wilson somehow found himself on the left flank, and put in a smart pass to free up Tiki Hummel in the box. He hit his shot just over the bar, though, as precious time ticked away.

But eventually, the Vaqueros did get their winner. In stoppage time, they recycled an opportunity after Hancock half-cleared a corner. Gonzalez then put in a beautiful ball from the right wing to the back post. The La Playa crowd had a perfect view of it, rising to their feet well before Romero emphatically headed it into the back of the net. Two sophomores, down to 10 men, connecting for a winning goal on Sophomore Night in the final moments of the regular season. Naturally, the entire Santa Barbara bench went running to the corner flag to celebrate.

“Being able to show grit late in the game, and prove that it doesn’t matter whether it’s 10 or 11 men, we can win games, is huge going into the postseason,” Zermeno said.

He credited Associate Head Coach Jaime Alvarado’s training for preparing the Vaqueros for situations like this one.

“In training, we play a game called Warzone,” he said. “It just simulates different scenarios—you’re a man down, or you’re up a goal late and need to keep the lead but the other team needs to score to get a tie—and this is a result of that. We work a lot on mentality.”

Depending on the result of Moorpark-Oxnard on Friday, Santa Barbara will finish either second or third in the Western State Conference (WSC) North.

“We’re guaranteed one more game, but hopefully we can make that four games and get to the state finals,” Zermeno concluded.

On Sunday, the Vaqueros will find out who and where they will be playing in the first round of the 3C2A postseason, which is set to take place next Wednesday, Nov. 18.