SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The Santa Barbara City College Men’s Soccer team (9-3-4, 4-1-1) earned a crucial 3-1 conference win over Oxnard (4-5-4, 2-2-1) on Tuesday night in a wide-open game.

“They’re a very good opponent and always a challenge,” Head Coach Alex Zermeno said of Oxnard. “We just got the upper hand today.”

The Vaqueros’ first real chance came in the 15th minute when Diego Gonzalez fizzed a low cross from the right wing. It snuck through to Aidan DePaco, whose shot was valiantly blocked by a Condor defender. The ball ricocheted high in the air, but Cristiano Alvarez surprised everyone by hitting it first-time with his left foot anyway, yet it flew just wide.

It was a warning sign, though, and the game completely opened up for the Vaqueros from there. About a minute later, off a throw-in 25 yards off their own endline, DePaco and Gonzalez basically were two-on-one with acres of space. Gonzalez had an excellent first touch from DePaco’s pass from the left flank, and coolly scored off the goalkeeper’s right post for a 1-0 Vaqueros lead.

But the wave of Vaqueros’ chances continued. In the 20th minute, Gonzalez really should have scored again when he skied a shot from the center of the box, crossed by Brandon Montalvo.

In the 27th minute, David Vela scored the second goal of the night. The midfielder perfectly read a weak Condor pass in their own half and intercepted it. All he needed was one touch before shooting, which the Oxnard goalie saved initially. Vela pounced on the rebound and slotted it into the back of the net as the Vaqueros deservedly made it 2-0.

That ended a 15-minute span in which the Vaqueros pounded the Oxnard goal with nine shots. Despite the visitors creating a bit themselves, it stayed 2-0 by halftime.

About 10 minutes into the second half, Tiki Hummel and Jose Ramirez played a beautiful one-two cutting through the Condor defense, but Oxnard’s goalie made a save to match.

For all the Vaqueros’ chances, Oxnard got a goal back—somewhat out of nowhere—to halve their deficit in the 60th minute. Marcos Hernandez scored from the right side of the box on their first shot of the half.

Right back Dean Wilson found himself deep in the box, scuffing a shot wide across the face of goal in the 70th minute. Soon after, Ramirez skied a shot on a cross that was too hot to keep down.

Wilson blocked a sure goal with about 12 minutes to play after second-half goalie Isaac Ortega had to dive on an initial whiffed shot attempt. It was a reminder for the Vaqueros, who were cruising for a majority of the game, that they were one moment away from conceding a two-goal lead. Three weeks ago at Oxnard, the Condors had erased a 2-0 Vaqueros lead to draw 2-2.

“We talked about that at halftime,” Zermeno said. “[Associate Head Coach] Jaime [Alvarado] said, ‘It’s the same scoreline as last game. They may have an extra player, but we have to stay focused.’ Focus is one of our pillars and we emphasize that whenever we get a chance to.”

The response was much different tonight. Seven minutes from time, Gonzalez got his second goal thanks to Andy Gonsales very unselfishly laying the ball back to him on a breakaway. The chance was created via a hopeful long ball and a mistake from the Condors’ back line. Regardless of how it happened, the score was 3-1 Santa Barbara.

Vela almost scored again, too, but missed a header from point-blank range. It really could have been 5-1 or 6-1 on the night.

Nonetheless, the Vaqueros begin an important three-match stretch with a win.

“The next two games could be the deciding factor of who wins the conference,” Zermeno said. “But we have to do a job on Friday against Moorpark first.”

On Friday, the Vaqueros travel to third-place Moorpark (3-1-1) at 4 p.m. before hosting No. 14 LA Mission (4-1-1)—who they are tied with for first—next Tuesday.