In their first meeting since the historic CIF Division 2 boys soccer final before 8,000 fans at UCSB, Santa Barbara and Dos Pueblos played for the championship of the Buena New Year’s Tournament on Thursday in Ventura.
The crosstown rivals battled to a scoreless draw and settled the issue in a penalty-kick shootout, which Santa Barbara won 5-3 to claim the title for the second straight year.
“It was a pretty even game,” Santa Barbara coach Todd Heil said. “We had the better of it in the first half and they had the better of it in the second half.”
The difference was the first round of the shootout when DP’s shooter hit the post with his shot. Santa Barbara went a perfect 5 for 5, with Sanford Spivey, Edgar Ruiz, Thomas Crawford, T.J. Fairchild and Alberto Hernandez all converting.
The defending CIF champion Don are unbeaten in their last 13 matches and have won nine in a row.
Dos Pueblos coach Tovi Eliasen said his team started playing well near the end of the first half.
“We had some chances, none of them were great at least by my tally,” he said. “I thought they played better in the first 20 minutes. The last 10 minutes of the first half we started to get a hold of the game little bit. In the second half, we had a better run of play.”
It was the fourth game in two days for both teams.
“For both teams, it wasn’t our best game — a lot mistakes,” Eliasen said. “It was a big midfield battle.
“We played well in patches. The biggest thing for our guys is to prove to ourselves this is a team we can play with and we can compete well with. We know from our early results we’re a good team. Santa Barbara is a team we try to measure ourselves against. They set the standard for many years and they have a great team again this year.”
The game was the first for Dons senior Spivey against DP since early last season. He missed last year’s playoffs because of a knee injury.
“Spivey played very well, he controlled the midfield and won almost everything in the year,” said Heil.
The Santa Barbara coach also praised the play of Marco Sanchez. “He had a great tournament and a great final game. He put up some nice crosses in the final and semifinals. We just couldn’t get on the end of them.”
Heil used a lot of his younger players in the final to give them the experience of playing in a meaningful game.
The Dons got a good performance from their defense, which struggled early in the season. The draw was their ninth shutout.
“That’s one thing we’ve talked about,” Heil said. “As long as we continue to shut people down, we give our offense — even if its just one goal — an opportunity to win the game.”
Eliasen said the final was a good battle, but the league showdowns will be better.
“We were excited for the game. I think for both teams it could have been better. When we meet in a week’s time, we’ll have better soccer all around.”
The Dons and Chargers meet next Thursday at Santa Barbara.
Dos Pueblos advanced to the final by blanking Camarillo 3-0. Nick Neumann, Eddie Flores and Chris Castillo scored the goals.
“We didn’t give up a goal in the tournament,” Eliasen said. “Eric Katz had four shutouts and has nine for the year, which is pretty impressive at this early stage.
“All in all it was a good tournament. It was our highest finish.”
Santa Barbara beat Pacifica 1-0 in the other semifinal. Edgar Ruiz scored the goal in the last two minutes and Tanner Wolf got the assist.
