Hartnell scored twice in the first 21 minutes on Friday afternoon and went on to bleat SBCC 3-0 in the Community College State Men’s Soccer semifinals at Cosumnes River in Sacramento.
The Vaqueros, the No. 2 seed in the South, had their nine-game win streak snapped and finished at 18-2-4. It was the first time SBCC has been shut out this year and the first time it has allowed three goals.
“We didn’t look good, we just couldn’t get our free kicks going,” said sophomore Jordan Tabor. “They got off to a quick start. We still had a chance at halftime (when they trailed 2-0) because we had the wind.
“We put in a great effort all year. We just came up short today.”
Mt. San Antonio, the No. 1 seed in the South, beat City College of San Francisco 2-0 to advance to the Sunday’s final against Hartnell (19-2-3). The Mounties (21-0-3) are seeking their third straight title.
Duran Stanley, the Vaqueros’ top scorer with 13 goals, received his second yellow card and an automatic ejection in the 57th minute after a collision with John Ramirez.
SBCC entered the game with a 0.78 goals-against average. Hartnell, located in Salinas, was the top scoring team in the state with 95 goals (4.1 average).
Ivan Campos put Hartnell up 1-0 on a free kick in the eighth minute and Max Estrada scored on a rebound in the 21st minute. Estrada got his second goal in the 73rd minute when the Vaqueros were a man down. SBCC was outshot 17-5 and Hartnell had a 12-2 advantage in shots on goal.
“It was very frustrating,” said defender Roberto Santana. “Sometimes it’s not your day. You have to give their team respect, they’re here for a reason.
“We lacked a bit of confidence today. Once that first goal went in, it was a psychological killer. I’m proud of our team, it was a great year for us.”
Hartnell peppered the SBCC net with six shots on goal in the second half. Keeper Yonha Adrabi made eight saves in the game. Tabor kept a ball out of the net with a bicycle kick in the 28th minute and Adrabi made back-to-back saves on two close-range shots with two minutes left in the first half.
“We allowed them too much space early on and we didn’t seem to be focused,” said Vaquero coach John Sisterson. “We gave away a sloppy free kick and they punished us for it.
“It’s tough to come back against a good team. We never got our rhythm going. It was harsh to lose Duran. I thought both players were going for a 50-50 ball.”
The loss was SBCC’s first in 11 road games (8-1-2).
“It’s been a great year, we won the (WSC) championship,” Sisterson concluded. “It was important to get to the Final Four. This was a great experience and now we know what it takes. We’ll be back next year and go one step further.”
