Jesse Gonzalez and the Santa Barbara boys soccer team continued to plow through the first half of the season on Tuesday, beating Camarillo 3-0 and Calabasas 8-0 to advance to the semifinals of the Buena Tournament.
Gonzalez had a pair of goals in each game for the Dons, who are now 15-0 on the year.
“Our system really allows Jesse to be free,” said coach Todd Heil. “He’s got two really strong center-mids behind him in Sanford Spivey and Alex Santana, and it frees him up. It’s also the chemistry he has with the other forwards.”
The back line has also been exceptional, as Santa Barbara has posted nine shutouts. Heil specifically highlighted Tony Alfaro and Marcos Lopez for their efforts on defense in Tuesday’s games.
Gonzalez finished a give-and-go with Christian Pardo to put the Dons up in the ninth minute against Camarillo. Luis Santana assisted Gonzalez on a cross inside the 18 just six minutes later, and Pardo scored in the 34th off of a long throw-in from Brian Joseff.
Gonzalez and Fernando Alvarado each scored twice in the blowout victory over Calabasas later in the day.
Santa Barbara plays Rio Mesa in tomorrow morning’s semifinals and will play again at 2 p.m., win or lose. The Dons have already won tournament titles at the Atascadero Cats and Hounds Tournament and the South Torrance Tournament.
“It would mean a lot to win this one. The guys are really focused, and as much as we like winning tournament titles this team is also good at taking it one game at a time,” said Heil.
