Pepe Barron recorded a hat trick, and Santa Barbara needed every one of his goals to get past Ventura, 3-2, in a Channel League boys soccer match on Thursday.
Barron scored in the sixth minute off a long throw from Jumoke Hutton, finished a beautiful over-the-top pass from Carlos Hernandez in the 16th minute and put away his third goal unassisted in the 60th minute after making a steal.
Barron has 15 goals on the season.
Ventura scored in the 11th minute and made things interesting with a goal in the 69th minute.
“It was difficult,” Santa Barbara coach Todd Heil said of the win. “Ventura was pretty defensive. They made it difficult on us. I was quite pleased we scored three goals the way Ventura was playing.”
The win improves Santa Barbara’s records to 13-4-1 overall and 2-0 in the Channel League.
