For an hour, the Pirates' women's soccer team went toe to toe with unbeaten Santa Barbara at the Sportsplex Tuesday night. The teams battled to a scoreless tie through halftime before the Vaqueros, unbeaten in 17 games this season, finally broke through with a goal off a free kick. That opened the flood gates, however, and the Pirates ultimately fell 4-0 despite an outstanding effort. Goalie Maya Escobar had 10 saves in goal for the Pirates (9-10-2, 4-3).
SBCC seemed to take charge early, hitting three quick shots on goal, all saved by Escobar. After the 10-minute mark, hoever, the Pirates settled down. With a solid defense, they turned back the aggressive Vaqueros with center mid Carina Cardenas leading the way along with defenders Sirena Romero, Kayla Simmons Allon and Eleni Borjon, and midfielder Esmeralda Murillo. VC was able to turn their defensive stops into offensive pressure in the opening 45 minutes, with Murrillo, Simmons Allon and Romero all taking shots. In the 35th and 38th minutes, Escobar had a pair of outstanding saves to keep Santa Barbara off the board, and Audrey Castillo countered with another shot on goal in the 40th. The teams went to intermission tied 0-0.
VC continued the strong defensive effort until the 53rd minute when the Vaqueros scored off a corner kick for a 1-0 advantage. The score remained for another 10 minutes of play before the momentum made a distinguishing shift and Santa Barbara scored three goals in a five minute span, beginning with a rocket off a free kick in the 62nd minute that sailed just under the crossbar. SBCC scored off a redirect off another free kick in the 63rd minute and connected on a penalty kick in the 66th to set the final margin.
The Pirates were able to stop the bleeding and refocus, but the damage had been done. They continued to scratch and claw, but never could find the back of the net. Ventura had nine shots in the game with seven on goal.
Despite the loss, the Pirates remain in the hut for a playoff spot, but face a big game in their regular season finale against rival Moorpark on Friday Nov. 10. Kickoff for the match with the Raiders is scheduled for 6:00 pm at the VC Sportsplex.