Sandy Grimaldo scored two goals in a seven-minute span of the first half Thursday night and SBCC went on to beat Cuesta 4-1 in its WSC North women’s soccer debut at La Playa Stadium.
The freshman forward from Mammoth Lakes beat the keeper to the right corner in the 32nd minute and then headed in a corner kick from Kayla Campbell in the 39th minute to make it 2-0.
It was the first win in five games for the defending WSC champion Vaqueros (5-2-2, 1-0), who are 16-4-2 in their last 22 at home.
“This was our first conference game, so we had to step it up,” said Grimaldo. “I felt like we owned them. If we keep playing like this, we’ll keep on winning. We had good communication out there.”
Grimaldo came close to getting a hat trick late in the second half and actually scored on a play that was nullified by an offside call.
The Vaqueros held Cuesta (4-3-2) without a shot in the first half while taking 13 of their own. For the game, they outshot the visitors 23-3, including 10-3 in shots on goal.
Three minutes into the second half, Brandie Harris lobbed a 35-yard shot over the keeper’s head for her team-leading eighth goal of the season. Courteney Bragg scored for Cuesta in the 62nd minute.
SBCC made it 4-1 in the 72nd minute on another header off a corner kick. Defender Linn Viklund got the goal on as assist from Justina Silva.
“We knocked it around very well and the goals we scored were just rewards for the way we played,” said coach John Sisterson. “The girls finished their chances tonight. It was good to open defense of our WSC title with a victory.”
The Vaqueros host Oxnard on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
