Juan Diaz Casallas converted a spectacular bicycle kick for a 2-0 lead in the first half on Friday night and SBCC went on to beat Hancock 3-1 in a WSC men’s soccer match at La Playa Stadium.
The Vaqueros, ranked No. 6 in the state and 12th in the nation, improved to 11-1-4 overall and 8-1-1 in conference. They’re unbeaten in their last nine (8-0-1) and stayed one point behind Oxnard (8-0-2) in the race for the WSC title.
Duran Stanley opened the scoring in the 10th minute on an assist from Nick Littleton. Casallas, a freshman from Colombia, took a pass from Stanley and scored his first goal in the 31st minute.
Hancock cut the deficit to 2-1 on a penalty kick in the 54th minute.
In the 73rd minute, Santiago Perez made a great cross and Roberto Santana rose above a crowd to head it into the net.
SBCC is 5-1-2 at home this season and 19-2-3 in its last 24 home matches.
“We were under a little pressure in the second half but we survived and got that third goal,“ said coach John Sisterson. “We missed a few chances but we got the three points and that’s the important thing.“
The Vaqueros go to Canyons on Tuesday for a 4 p.m. game.
