SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The Santa Barbara City College Men’s Soccer team (7-3-4, 2-1-1) put a handful past LA Pierce (2-11, 1-3) on Tuesday night, winning 5-0 at La Playa Stadium.

Looking like the team more likely to score first, the Vaqueros did that about 25 minutes in, albeit controversially. Diego Gonzalez did great to just keep the ball in play as a Pierce defender tried to block his path to it and earn a goal kick. Instead, Gonzalez gained control on the touchline and cut in from the left. From only a few yards out, he tried to finish at the near post, which the goalie got a slight touch on. A Pierce defender looked like he made a goal-line clearance, but the referee ruled it had gone over the line for a 1-0 Vaqueros lead, despite heavy Pierce protests.

Nonetheless, the Vaqueros showed initiative to score again. About eight minutes from halftime, Dean Wilson cut back a hopeful low cross from the right wing. It went through untouched, but JP Garcia had enough time to line up his run and body position for a shot on his favored right foot. He perfectly curled the ball from the top-left of the box into the bottom-right corner; no complaints this time as Santa Barbara went up 2-0. It was the Dos Pueblos grad’s first goal of the year, but one wouldn’t have guessed it based on the precision of the shot.

Then, right on the stroke of halftime, the hosts scored a third time. Luis Campos forced a quality save, and the ball fell to a Pierce defender who inexplicably played it back to the middle of the box rather than out for a corner kick. He essentially assisted David Magana—another Dos Pueblos grad—who smashed a first-time left-footed shot into the back of the net. The Vaqueros took the 3-0 lead into the break.

Pierce almost got a goal back in the 57th minute. An impressive volley went over the crossbar and under the football field goal crossbar—less than two feet of space separates the two. A few minutes later, Santa Barbara goalie Eric Cruz made a fingertip save to keep out a shot at his bottom right corner.

But the Vaqueros soon exploited Pierce’s dynamism. Pierce turned the ball over in a tight space in the Vaqueros’ half. A few touches later, Magana sent Brandon Montalvo clear through on goal on a ball over the top. He took a few touches himself and calmly slotted home the team’s fourth of the night.

In the 75th minute, David Vela made a great move around midfield to beat two defenders. He then sent a perfectly lofted through ball over the head of Pierce’s last defender and into the stride of Yahriel Heras. The Santa Barbara High grad chipped the goalie with the outside of his foot as Joseph Schiro made sure it went in—he and two Brahmas went crashing into the back of the net, with the ball. Regardless of who got the final touch, it was now 5-0 Vaqueros.

That would be the final score as the Vaqueros kept pace in a very competitive Western State Conference (WSC) North, remaining at least tied for second place.

The Vaqueros travel to Allan Hancock (7-6-2, 1-3) for an afternoon matchup on Friday, with kickoff scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Fans not attending can follow along via live stats and access a livestream on govaqs.com.