Duran Stanley scored a goal in the last minute of the first half on Friday afternoon and Nick Littleton added a penalty kick, leading SBCC to a 2-0 men’s soccer victory over L.A. Mission at La Playa Stadium.
The Vaqueros, ranked No. 10 in the state, won their fifth straight to improve to 8-1-3 and 5-1-0 in the Western State Conference.
In the 45th minute, Ricardo Vazquez volleyed the ball back toward the Mission goal and Stanley jumped high to head it past the goalie.
“I don’t think the goalie was expecting me to get that high,” said Stanley, a freshman from Santa Barbara High who has three goals in the last two games. “When he went to punch it, I touched it off my head.”
Littleton was tripped in the box in the 58th minute and he buried the PK in the lower left for his first goal of the season.
“I tried to run at the defender and make something happen and I did,“ said Littleton. “The keeper guessed right (on the PK) but luckily, I hit it hard enough to go in.”
Mission outshot the home team 19-11, including 11-5 in the second half.
“It was a difficult game, we had to make some changes due to injuries,” said coach John Sisterson. “It might not have been the prettiest game but we had to grind out a win.”
Goalie Tony Mendoza made diving saves in the 2nd and 79th minutes and Roberto Santana and Vazquez were strong on the back line.
SBCC opens a three-game road trip on Tuesday at Citrus.
