The elusive 16th conference title that seemed so distant Tuesday became a reality Friday for the Pirates' women's soccer team. Janelle Garcia, Rae Ritchie and Melissa Cardenas all scored goals as VC (15-5-1, 8-1-1) defeated Oxnard at the VC Sportsplex in the regular season finale Friday. About an hour later, Santa Barbara defeated Moorpark 2-1 giving the Pirates and Raiders each a share of the Western State Conference North Division crown. The title is the first for VC since 2012 and the 16th overall for the program since 1996.
The Pirates were aggressive early as Megan Henderson played a nice through ball to Janelle resulting in a shot on frame in the 4th minute of play. Henderson had another shot n the 9th minute and Cardenas had a free kick tipped over the crossbar in the 10th. Sarah Garcia had a long shot stopped in the 14th and Jennifer Orozco had a wicked right-foot shot cleared in the 15th.
Josselyne Pereda had a nice shot in the 18th that soared over the goal and Henderson had another chance seven minutes later. Orozco had a chip pass down the middle to Janelle in the 26th minute sail just long.
The Pirates finally broke through in the 34th minute when Janelle found the back of the net with an assist by Valeria Ramirez. The Pirates led 1-0 and were looking for more.
The Condors also played aggressively with a chance in the 40th minute played wide by goal keeper Amy Neidiffer. Oxnard had a penalty kick a minute late on a called hand ball that hit the side post and away from the net.
In first half stoppage time, Sarah Garcia hit a corner kick that bounced around in front of the net before Ritchie headed it home for a a 2-0 Pirate advantage at halftime.
Play continued at a furious pace in the second half with VC continuously attacking. The Condors caught a break, however, and scored on a breakaway in the 55th minute to make things interesting.
The Pirates appeared to score their third goal on two occasions soon thereafter, but each was nullified by offsides calls. Cardenas hit a free kick, settled by Orozco with a pass to Janelle in the 57th minute, and a cross from Orozco with a slotted pass by Sarah to Janelle in the 66th.
In the 77th minute, Oxnard had a great chance to equalize, but their shot on a break away hit the crossbar and was cleared by Esmeralda Murillo.
Cardenas finally put the match on ice with a beautiful shot from 30 yards out that sailed into the top left corner of the net to finalize the 3-1 result for VC.
The victory was followed by a Moorpark loss in Santa Barbara, bringing the teams into a tie for the WSC North Division title, each with 25 points and an 8-1-1 record in conference play. Next up will be playoff action for the Pirates an a likely home game to begin post-season play.
