Dos Pueblos and Santa Barbara won their first Channel league matches and both wanted to win their second on Tuesday in a Channel League match at Peabody Stadium.
In the end, neither team ended up allowing the other the thrill of victory as the crosstown rivals se ttled on a 0-0 draw.
Dos Pueblos' Marina Plesons, left, blocks an attempted pass from Santa Barbara's Kristen Jurich.
“Santa Barbara is always a big game,” said Chargers defender Erin Ristig, whose job it was to shadow Dons leading scorer Briana Lopez all night.
“Erin’s like a thoroughbred,” described Dos Pueblos head coach Molly Imel, pleased with Ristig’s success neutralizing the Dons’ leading scorer.
“Even though this is a tie, I’m very pleased with our consistency,” she added, crediting Kristen Witchey and the back line for limiting defensive breakdowns that have been hurting DP’s efforts.
Santa Barbara outshot Dos Pueblos 9-6 in the game and held the ball on the Chargers’ side for a majority of the second half without any results.
“You want to win at home,” said Dons head coach Brian Lloyd, whose team plays three of its first-four league games on the road.
The Dons’ first round started with a 2-1 win at San Marcos and continues to Ventura on Thursday.
Meagan Bellefeuille posted her fifth clean sheet of the season for Dos Pueblos. Counterpart Allie Chandler recorded her second for the Dons.
“We like the shutout part of the tie,” said Dons defender Brittany Couture.
Dos Pueblos (6-4-6) beat Ventura 1-0 in its opener and will also travel to Ventura on Thursday, meeting Buena at 5 p.m.
