On a festive Senior Night at Scott O’Leary Stadium, Dos Pueblos got strong performances from several upperclassmen in a 2-0 Channel League win over Santa Barbara Monday night.
That started in the second minute of play, when senior Charger Alvaro Contreras, pressing the Dons’ backfield, stole a pass and took a shot from about 30 yards out that cleared the goalkeeper’s outstretched hands.
Santa Barbara nearly scored an equalizer a minute before halftime save for a contortionist’s save from Dos Pueblos goalkeeper Bryce Hemman.
Dos Pueblos scored the second goal in the 72nd minute, on a pass in a tight window from senior Matt Sillers to senior Noe Pina Duarte, who cut in on the ball and finished with his left good, ricocheting a shot off the far post.
“It seemed only fitting that our two goals were set up and finished by seniors on this evening,” Dos Pueblos coach Matt York said. “And that our shut out was led by an incredible effort by our senior defense, and savor the night from our senior goalkeeper to keep us in the lead going into halftime.”
Among several other shout-outs, “The team also got a huge boost with getting back senior captain, Gio Jimenez, after being injured for the past few weeks,” York said. “It was great to see him have success in our final match of the regular season.”
With the win, Dos Pueblos closes out Channel League play at 4-6-3 and is 4-10-3 overall. Santa Barbara is 2-8-3 in league play and 6-10-4 overall.