Mark Knight notched his second hat trick in five games Saturday night with three second-half goals that carried SBCC to a 3-0 men’s soccer victory over Moorpark. The win was the ninth straight for the fifth-ranked Vaqueros (16-4, 11-1) and secured their seventh WSC title and first since 2000.
Knight, the No. 2 scorer in California, has 11 goals in his last five games and 25 for the season. His 53 career goals ties the school record of Flemming Sorenson, set in 1995-96.
“This is the first thing I’ve won in six years since I was in club football in England,” said Knight, a sophomore striker. “It’s a good feeling but there’s still two conference games left and we need to win those.”
After a scoreless first half, Knight struck in the 64th minute on an assist from Danny Molineaux. Two minutes later, Knight found the net again. In the 77th minute, Waid Ibrahim was fouled in the box and Knight converted a penalty kick.
“I’m delighted for the boys and for everybody at the college,” said second-year coach John Sisterson. “In the first half, Moorpark really did match us. We told the players if they want something out of this game, they have to start performing like men and compete. We adjusted slightly in midfield and it worked.”
It was the third straight shutout for goalie Ricky Placencia and the Vaquero defense. SBCC has outscored its opponents 29-4 during the nine-game win streak.
The Vaqueros will play their final regular-season home game on Tuesday at 7 p.m. against Canyons.
