Showing their best effort of the season, the Ventura College women's soccer team defeated visiting Santa Barbara 2-0 Tuesday evening at the VC Sportsplex. Janelle Garcia and Sarah Garcia scored second half goals to give the Pirates (9-4, 3-0) the edge in the match up of two of the conference's three remaining undefeated teams. Evanessa Vasquez had six saves in goal for the shutout.
The teams both came into the match with six points in Western State Conference North Division play. They were tied with Moorpark at the top of the conference standings when play began on Tuesday.
The Pirates were the aggressors from the onset, playing with a focus and drive unseen in a couple of years on the Sportsplex pitch. Their first chance came in the eighth minute when Michelle Rios sent a through pass to Janelle that was turned back by the SBCC goalie. The pair hooked up for another chance in the 14th minute and Jennifer Orozco had a nice cross in the 15th, but to no avail.
In the 27th minute, Orozco sent a pass down the right side to Janelle, whose cross was barely missed on an attempted header by Rios. Megan Henderson was there for the rebound but could not corral the ball for another shot.
A minute later, Janelle sent a rocket in from the right side resulting in a diving save by the Vaqueros to preserve the scoreless tie.
Santa Barbara also had their chances in the first half. They had a cross and header end up above the crossbar in the 21st minute, and they came up empty on a pair of corner kicks in the 31st. Soon thereafter, Vasquez was whistled for a penalty while attacking a ball inside the box. However, when the referee consulted with the linesman, the call was rescinded, giving VC a goal kick instead.
The Vaqueros best chance at a score came in the 42nd minute when they missed an open net shot from just above the penalty box off of a rebounded save by a hard charging Vasquez. The ball rolled wide left and the teams went into halftime tied at 0-0.
Play was even early in the second half, with each team missing an opportunity in the 28th and 59th minutes, respectively. Janelle had a shot blocked after a solid run followed by nice footwork around the defense inside the box in the 62nd minute. Melissa Cardenas had a free kick straight on from 35 yards punched over the goal by the SBCC goalie five minutes later.
In the 71st minute, Sydney Kruft had a key steal deep in the Ventura end, and she passed to Janelle Garcia at midfield on the counterattack. After a Vaquero defender slipped, Janelle took the ball on a breakaway down the left side, pooching a shot over the diving goalie and into the net for the first score of the night.
In the 74th minute, the tension thickened when Hannah Greene was sent off following her second yellow card of the night, forcing the Pirates to play the final 15 minutes a player short.
in the 81st, Janelle broke free down the right side, and was fouled in the penalty box, giving VC a penalty kick and a chance to put the match away. Sarah Garcia hit the top right corner of the net on the PK, making the score 2-0.
The Pirates held on for the shutout victory for their fifth straight triumph, and their seventh win in the past eight games.
The win sets up an old-fashioned Ventura-Moorpark game on Friday Oct. 21. The Pirates and Raiders sit tied atop the WSC North table with identical 3-0 conference marks. The two Ventura County schools have won the conference title every year except two (2013 and 2014) since 1996. Moorpark won the title last year, but the Pirates have won the conference 15 times in the past 20 years to Moorpark's three. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 pm at the VC Sportsplex.