Duran Stanley did it all on Tuesday night at La Playa Stadium, scoring a pair of goals and drawing a penalty kick in SBCC’s 3-0 shutout of Rio Hondo in the second round of the Southern Cal Regional men’s soccer playoffs.
Stanley, a freshman from Honduras who played for Santa Barbara High a few years ago, opened the scoring in the 19th minute. He intercepted a pass and took off on a breakaway up the right side, dribbled around the goalie and blasted in a 15-yard shot.
“I read the defense really well and I knew he was going to pass the ball back,” said Stanley, who leads the team with 12 goals. “I knew with my quickness I’d be able to get to the ball.”
The third-seeded Vaqueros extended their win streak to eight and improved to 17-1-4. They’re 14-0-1 in their last 15. SBCC is also tough at home with a 9-1-2 record this year and 23-2-3 in its last 28.
The Vaqueros will host No. 7 Golden West on Saturday at 7 p.m. with a trip to the State Final Four on the line. The Rustlers (13-5-4) upset No. 2 Cerritos 1-0 on Tuesday.
In the 52nd minute, Stanley ran onto a through ball from Andres Gomez and was tackled by the keeper. Jordan Tabor drilled the penalty kick into the lower right for a 2-0 lead.
“I knew the goalie was going to do that,” said Stanley. “I have 10 PKs on the season. I’m creative about that. I know he’s going to come out, so I try to slip the ball a little farther away. Our whole team stepped it up tonight.”
In the 90th minute, Tabor delivered a free kick from 52 yards and Stanley jumped right next to the goalie. The keeper dropped the ball right at the feet of Stanley, who popped it in for the final goal.
“Duran is a great asset, he’s a handful for opposing defenses,” said coach John Sisterson. “Our defense played well, all the boys played well.”
Yonha Adrabi recorded his sixth shutout with solid defensive help from WSC MVP Roberto Santana and Ricardo Vazquez.
