?Ventura rallied to tie SBCC twice in the second half of Thursday night’s first-place women’s soccer showdown and the teams settled for a 2-2 tie at La Playa Stadium.
Vaquero freshman Sandy Grimaldo tallied the only goal of the first half in the seventh minute, taking a pass from Brandie Harris on the left side and beating the keeper to the top right corner from 18 yards out. Breanna Naranjo tied it in the 58th minute on a header off a corner kick by Shayna Petterson.
Justina Silva gave the Vaqueros (6-2-4, 2-0-2 WSC North) a 2-1 lead by converting a rebound of a missed shot by Grimaldo in the 70th minute.
“I saw Sandy going wide, so I got on the back side just in case and I got the goal,” said Silva, who’s scored in two straight games. “We all worked really hard. I don’t think it was much of a disappointment, it was more unlucky. Hopefully, we can beat them next time.”
The Pirates (7-5-1, 2-0-1) got the equalizer in the 86th minute when Naranjo headed the ball to Daisy Cardona, who headed it into the goal.
“They had us back on our heels and we just didn’t deal with it in the box,” said SBCC coach John Sisterson. “It feels like we lost the game but don’t forget, Ventura is a very good team and there will still be a lot to play for the next time we see them down at Ventura.
“I’m proud of the way the girls competed. We created lots of scoring opportunities, it could have been 2-0 in the early going. You can always say ‘What if?’ The fact of the matter was we tied and we played well.”
SBCC and Ventura tied for last year’s WSC North title with 9-1 records. Ventura outshot the Vaqueros 23-14 on Thursday with each team getting 10 shots on-goal.
Brianna Robinson made eight saves for Santa Barbara.
The Vaqueros complete a five-game homestand on Tuesday when Hancock comes to La Playa for a 1 p.m. contest.
