East L.A. tallied three goals in a 12-minute span of the second half on Friday and spoiled the season opener for the SBCC women’s soccer team with a 3-1 victory in the Ventura Tournament.
Alex Abbott scored from three yards out on a nice cross from Aimee Ryan to give the Vaqueros a 1-0 lead in the 19th minute. Chiara Kehl started the second half at forward and put the ball in the net in the 52nd minute but it was waved off by offsides.
The Huskies (1-1) tied the game in the 66th minute and an 18-yard shot into the upper left corner by Carla Quijada. Maria Becerra scored on a rebound in the 69th minute. Eight minutes later, Cristal Montoya slid a pass to the left and Blakeley Ficenee scored from close range to make it 3-1.
“We had a difficult time handling No. 11 (Quijada),” said SBCC coach John Sisterson. “We scored early and we looked comfortable at halftime. We told them it was all about how we manage the game, which unfortunately we didn’t do very well.”
Kehl crossed a ball to Astrid Thiel at the far post in the 80th minute but Thiel couldn’t get her foot on it. After a ball-handling error by the goalie, the Vaqueros had an unusual free kick from six yards in the 82nd minute but couldn’t convert on a pair of shots with eight Huskies on the goal line.
East L.A. outshot the Vaqueros 23-16 with both teams getting seven shots on goal. The Huskies tried eight corner kicks, compared to two for Santa Barbara.
“We had our chances, we’ve got to brush up on our finishing,” said Sisterson. “We just need to work a little harder.”
SBCC will play Sierra from Rocklin, Calif., on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. in the Ventura College football stadium.
