The Santa Barbara Soccer Club is back in the title game at the United States Youth Soccer National Championships.
Raul Guerrero scored in the 77th minute to lift the SBSC Under-15 boys team to a 2-1 victory over Vardar, Michigan on Friday in Overland Park, Kan., clinching first place in its group and putting it in Saturday’s national championship match.
Santa Barbara will play Dix Hills Elite of New York in the final at 6:20 p.m. CDT. Dix Hills won Group B with a 1-0 win over the Bethesda Lions of Maryland.
Santa Barbara is seeking its second straight national title. The team won the Under-14 championship last year in South Carolina, beating Sunrise Elite of Florida in a penalty-kick shootout.
Santa Barbara needed to win Friday’s match to reach the final. It had four points after tying Sunrise Elite (0-0) and beating GSA Phoenix Red of Georgia (6-1). Vardar defeated both opponents in its earlier Group A matches for six points.
Brandon Sanchez gave Santa Barbara a 1-0 lead with a goal in the ninth minute. But Vardar equalized nine minutes later on a goal by Thomas Dokho.
