William Joyce got SBCC going with a goal in the 11th minute on Friday afternoon and Kyran Johal scored twice as Santa Barbara blanked Glendale 3-0 in a WSC men’s soccer game at La Playa Stadium.
The hometown Vaqueros (Glendale’s nickname is also Vaqueros) improved to 8-3-6 overall and 4-2-6 in the crowded WSC race. SBCC is currently in fifth place with 18 points. No. 10 Oxnard, which fell to SBCC 2-1 on Tuesday, is first with 28 points, followed by Santa Monica (24) and L.A. Mission (22). Glendale is 4-8-5 and 3-6-4.
Santa Barbara outshot the visitors 13-2 in the second half and 21-3 for the game. SBCC had seven shots on-goal and held Glendale to zero.
Joyce, a sophomore from England, stole the ball on the right side in the 11th minute and lobbed a 22-yard shot over the keeper’s head from a sharp angle. Five minutes later, Jacob Salas outworked a defender on the left side and slid a pass to Johal, who was just outside the left post.
Johal, a sophomore forward from London, England, twisted his lower body and punched the ball past the keeper for a 2-0 lead.
The three goals were the most the Vaqueros have scored in five weeks, since a 3-3 tie at Canyons on Sept. 22.
“We wanted to prove that we’re a good team and back up our win over Oxnard,” said Johal, whose six goals are tied for the team lead with Nicolas Genthon. “This was another good win.
“Jacob has been working hard on the flank and he got me the ball. The coaches have been telling me to ‘hit the front post, hit the front post’ and that’s what I did. I saw the keeper come out, so I had to get my foot on it and twist the ball around him.”
In the 55th minute, Joyce took a long free kick and Jason Winicki won the ball in the air and it caromed two yards over to Johal, who fired it in from six yards out.
It was the third shutout of the year for goalie Zac Gottlieb, who’s allowed just three goals in the last 4½ games.
“Our defensive effort was brilliant,” added Johal. “Our shape and training has really worked. We score goals but we also let in goals and that’s been the issue. We’ve minimized our mistakes in the last two games.”
Coach John Sisterson said this game was all about backing up the solid play from Tuesday’s upset of Oxnard, the state’s 10th-ranked team.
“I told the boys before the game that it wasn’t about looking for the playoffs, it was about proving that the Oxnard game wasn’t a flash in the pan,” said Sisterson. “We wanted to continue that performance, score some goals and keep a clean sheet in the back.
“We had three good goals today. Jacob Salas was outstanding at left back. He defended well and got a great assist on the second goal.”
The Vaqueros will play the next three on the road, starting Tuesday when they travel to El Cariso Park in Sylmar to take on L.A. Mission at 1 p.m.
