A stray cross turned into a beautiful goal for Sandy Grimaldo and the SBCC women’s soccer team on Friday in a 1-0 nonconference win over L.A. Valley.
The Vaqueros (3-3-1) dominated play for 90 minutes at La Playa Stadium but couldn’t find the net. SBCC outshot the Monarchs 26-2 and Grimaldo had seven of those shots. She broke free on the right side in the 91st minute and lofted the ball from a sharp angle over the keeper’s head and into the left corner.
“Their goalie was right there on every shot but we never gave up,” said Grimaldo, a sophomore forward from Mammoth Lakes. “Aimee (Ryan) called for the ball and I was trying to get it to her in the last minute. It was supposed to be a pass but it went in.”
Goalie Athena del Rosario made 10 saves for the Monarchs (5-2), including a handful from point-blank range. The Vaqueros had 12 shots on-goal and Valley didn’t have one.
SBCC outshot the visitors 15-1 in the first half.
“I thought it was never going to happen,” said coach John Sisterson. “We dominated the game from start to finish. When it got to the 85th minute, I started to think, ‘It’s not going to happen.’
“Then we get one in the 91st minute. The morale of the story is you just have to keep going until the final whistle blows.”
The Vaqueros open WSC North play on Tuesday with a 2 p.m. game at Hancock.
