Unfortunately, as the saying goes, it is difficult to beat a good team three times, and such was the case Tuesday as the No. 14-seeded Santa Barbara City came into the Sportsplex and came away with a 3-1 decision over the No. 6-seeded Ventura College women's soccer team in the CCCAA SoCal regional Semifinals. The Pirates (16-6-1) had defeated the Vaqueros twice during the regular season en route to the program's 16th Western State Conference title, but SBCC rode the momentum of an early goal Tuesday to the playoff win over VC.
The opening minutes were intense on both sides. Santa Barbara gained the upper hand early, putting through a goal in the fourth minute to claim a 1-0 advantage. VC kept up the aggressive play, and Jennifer Orozco had a through ball to Janelle Garcia in the seventh minute, but the play was ruled offsides. Melissa Cardenas had a solid free kick from 30 yards on goal in the 23rd, but it was turned back.
The Vaqueros took firm control of the match in the 25th minute with a rocket shot from 25 yards straight on that went in just below the crossbar.
But despite the deficit, VC kept up the fight. Josselyne Pereda had a shot roll wide left from 20 yards out in the 29th minute, and Sarah Garcia hit the crossbar with a looping shot in the 35th. But the SBCC defense limited the Pirates' opportunities, and Ventrua trailed 2-0 at halftime.
The match was placed firmly in the Vaquero's grasp over an eight minute stretch early in the second half. The Pirates appeared to cut the deficit in half in the 52nd minute when a free kick from Cardenas was headed into the goal by Janelle, but the score was disallowed and flegged for offsides. As play intensified in the ensuing minutes, Santa Barbara scored on a breakaway in the 60th to take hold of the victory.
Ventura admirably maintained its intensity in the final half hour, and received a glimmer of hope when Cardenas knocked in a free kick to cut the lead to 3-1 in the 66th minute.
Goalie Marissa Dominguez had a couple of nice saves down the stretch to maintain the hope, but as the clock ticked down, so did the Pirates' season. Santa Barbara prevailed by the 3-1 margin to advance to the regional semifinals.