Canyons scored on a counter-attack in the final minute of extra time on Tuesday night to hand SBCC a heartbreaking 2-1 setback in a WSC men’s soccer match at La Playa Stadium.
With the Vaqueros (2-5, 1-1) pushing forward, Canyons got the ball and delivered a long pass to Andy Ruiz who beat goalie Oscar Haard-Thelm from 10 yards out in the 92nd minute.
“We were trying to break forward, then we lose the ball and they knock a long one through and that was it,” said SBCC coach John Sisterson. “I wasn’t happy because every time we were looking to go forward, we didn’t have guys going forward. We wanted to go sideways, we wanted to go backwards but they [Canyons] just kept going forward.”
Jesus Pescador scored the only goal of the first half for the Cougars (3-1-2, 1-0-2) on a 24-yard free kick in the 27th minute.
Omar Montalvo tied it up in the 62nd minute with a 33-yard blast on an assist by Erik Winnberg.
“That was a great goal by Omar to get us back in the game,” said Sisterson. “I thought we created enough opportunities to get a win but that wasn’t the case. We didn’t get enough shots on target.”
Canyons outshot SBCC 20-14, including 9-5 in shots on goal. Haard-Thelm made six saves, including a couple of tough ones in the second half.
SBCC had a handful of injuries with Albi Skendi and Simon Sebbah going out in the first half and Montalvo and Napoleon Bergstroem in the second stanza.
The Vaqueros have another difficult match on Friday night when first-place Oxnard (3-0) visits at 7:30 p.m.
