Jamie Sporcic scored an open-net goal on a rebound in the 70th minute Tuesday night and SBCC went on to beat Canyons 2-1 in a WSC men’s soccer match at La Playa Stadium.
Sporcic, a 5-7 sophomore midfielder from England, had two solid scoring chances thwarted by Cougar keeper Miguel Lopez earlier in the second half. His game-winner came after the goalie blocked a shot by Ellis Mavers.
“We just had to keep plugging away and taking our chances,” said Sporcic, who leads the team with seven goals and 16 points. “I thought we deserved to win. We’re happy with another three points.”
The Vaqueros won for the fourth straight time to improve to 7-5 overall and 7-3 in conference. Canyons is 4-7-3 and 4-5-1.
Daniel Loveday, another Englishman, opened the scoring in the 30th minute by beating the keeper from 20 yards after Adam Colton centered it from the right. Canyons tied it at 1-1 with 15 seconds left in the first half when SBCC was called for a hand ball on a throw-in and Philip Boscacci converted a penalty kick.
“It didn’t look like a penalty to us on the pitch,” said Sporcic.
The Vaqueros outshot the Cougars 17-10 and 7-6 in shots on goal.
Sporcic and Loveday both scored for the second straight game.
“I thought the hand-ball call was a little harsh and that brought them back in the game,” said coach John Sisterson. “We came back well, though, and it was a hard-fought game, just like we expected.
“Jamie looked dangerous all evening and he was a handful. Omar (Montalvo) did well and it was good to see Vicente (Perez) play after being out with an injury.”
SBCC travels to first-place Oxnard on Friday for a 2 p.m. contest. The second-place Vaqueros trail Oxnard (8-1-1) by four points (25-21).
