Daisy Cardona slipped the ball into the right corner in the 12th minute on Thursday night and Ventura held on to beat SBCC 1-0 in a WSC North women’s soccer showdown for first place at the VC Sportsplex.
Cardona emerged from a crowd to convert a corner kick for the Pirates, ranked 11th in the state with records of 8-2 and 3-0. The Vaqueros (8-1, 3-1), rated No. 5 in the nation and 12th in the state, suffered their first loss in nine games.
“Everybody was surprised that goal went in, even their coach was surprised,” said Vaquero coach John Sisterson. “The girl didn’t even know she’d scored. We didn’t cover the near post and it ended up in the back of the net.”
Ventura outshot the visitors 7-3 in the first half, including six shots on goal, and 15-13 for the game. SBCC won the second-half shooting battle 10-8 with five shots on goal.
“We went against the wind in the first half and were looking forward to playing with the wind but it dropped in the second half,” Sisterson noted. “This loss was a shade disappointing but at the end of the day, the conference won’t be won or lost here.”
The Vaqueros, averaging 3.9 goals a game, were shut out for the first time this year. They had only one shot on goal in the opening half, a header in stoppage time by Brittany Brennhofer.
Jessica Domenichelli had her four-game scoring streak snapped. She had scored twice in each of the last three games. In the 71st minute, she took a pass, turned and found open space but her shot rolled right into the arms of goalie Raelene Moreno.
SBCC keeper Cheyenne Rodriguez turned away a flurry of Ventura chances in the last 25 minutes. A long-range shot by SBCC’s Katie Voss went over the bar in stoppage time and Domenichelli got off a header that went directly into the keeper’s hands.
Ali Raack was injured in the first half but returned in the 56th minute. Defender Sara Tomas was hurt in the 75th minute and didn’t come back.
The Vaqueros will travel to Moorpark on Tuesday for a 4 p.m. contest.
