Kalum Horne had three assists Tuesday night, leading SBCC to a 4-1 men’s soccer victory over Hancock in a first-place battle at rainy La Playa Stadium.
The Vaqueros, ranked third in the state and fifth in the nation, improved to 11-1-1 and completed the first round of WSC play unbeaten with a 6-0-1 record. SBCC, bidding for its third straight WSC title, took a four-point lead (19-15) over No. 4 Hancock (9-4-1, 5-2) atop the conference.
It was the 10th straight home win for Santa Barbara, which is 7-0 at home this season.
Chijioke Aranotu scored the only goal of the first half in the 29th minute, taking a pass from Horne and beating the goalie 1-on-1.
“It was a decent counter-attack,” said Horne, a sophomore forward from Woodgate, England. “I cut it across, saw ChiJi and it was happy days.”
John-Joe Slater, also from England, made it 2-0 in the 63rd minute after taking a short cross from Horne. “I managed to step inside the fullback and Niks (Nicholai Littleton) let it go and John-Joe hit it first time into the back of the net.
“It was good to play in the rain, it was like back home,” Horne added. “I was expecting a closer game but we could have scored six or seven, to be honest.”
Vaquero midfielder Pierre Mattsson hit the right post on a penalty kick late in the first half.
Hancock’s Amner Rubio received a red card in the 74th minute after his second hard tackle on Aranotu in three minutes.
Four minutes later, Branden Tangel made it 3-0 by heading in a corner kick from Littleton. Rosario Bras put the visitors on the board with a PK that went off the hands of keeper Yonha Adrabi in the 80th minute.
In the 83rd minute, Jean-Carlo Guzman dribbled around the goalie and scored into an empty net after taking a pass from Horne.
“I was delighted with the way we played,” said coach John Sisterson, who arrived early in the second half after coaching the women‘s team at Ventura. “As we keep telling them, it’s not just about winning, it’s about how you play and the boys turned it on tonight.
“Kalum looked sharp. He had a slight injury earlier this season but he’s finding his form now.”
SBCC will play a 1 p.m. game on Friday at L.A. Mission in Sylmar.
