SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Santa Barbara City College Women’s Soccer team (4-3) fell 2-1 to Saddleback (6-0) at home on Tuesday. It was a quality match—both teams made it to the third round of the postseason last year—with the visitors just about coming out on top.
The Vaqueros soaked up a lot of pressure in the opening minutes. Saddleback had a handful of shots and a penalty appeal as the ball mostly remained in the Vaqueros’ half. The breaking point came right before the half-hour mark as a cross from the left wing beat the Vaqueros’ offside trap for a simple headed finish. 1-0 Saddleback.
Leilani Sanchez—who scored in each of the three previous games—took the team’s first shot on target in the 35th minute. Before halftime, goalkeeper Natalie Gonzalez made a few more saves to keep the score 1-0. Although they had not produced much, the Vaqueros were still in the game.
The first big chance of the second half was theirs. About 10 minutes in, Alia Collins made a beautiful turn and through ball to Elle Eichenberger, but the Saddleback goalkeeper made an even better save.
Just a minute or two later, the Vaqueros got their goal. Sanchez made it four games out of four after Olivia Del Castillo‘s shot was blocked and the ball fell fortuitously to her in the middle of the box.
Now, the game picked up. Substitute goalie Cierra Spencer made a nice save to keep the game tied, and the final 30 minutes looked to be electric.
Both teams had a few half-chances as the game opened up. Ultimately, it was Saddleback who took the lead on a long ball that got through the Vaqueros’ back line. With just over 10 minutes to play, Saddleback had a 2-1 lead.
To make matters worse, Sanchez was forced off via injury before the end of the game. Sheila Begovic hit the crossbar from about 25 yards out on the last kick of the game as Saddleback held on for a 2-1 win, keeping their perfect record.
The Vaqueros hope to rebound against another undefeated opponent, traveling to Pasadena (3-0-3) on Friday with kickoff scheduled for 2 p.m.