Nicolas Genthon ended the regular season the way he started it, scoring a hat trick on Friday afternoon in a 7-0 men’s soccer blowout of Moorpark at La Playa Stadium.
It was the final reguar-season game of the year for the Vaqueros (11-4-6, 7-3-6 WSC), who are hoping to get an invite to the Southern Cal Regional playoffs. Santa Barbara has won its last three games by shutout and registered victories in five of the last six.
The Vaqueros finished fourth in the WSC, tying Canyons with 27 points. Oxnard (12-3-1) won its third straight conference title with 37 points, followed by L.A. Mission (34) and Santa Monica (30).
Moorpark, which tied the Vaqueros 2-2 in the first meeting, finishes at 2-15-2 and 2-12-2.
Haydn Dickinson scored two goals for the Vaqueros, who outshot the visitors 39-0. The seven goals, 39 shots and 18 shots on-goal were all season highs.
Simon Sebbah, one of 11 Vaqueros playing their final home game on Sophomore Day, had two assists. His half-volley in the third minute bounced off the crossbar and onto the foot of Dickinson, who scored from 4 yards out.
“It was nice to play today and it was also sad because this could be my last game for SBCC,” said Sebbah, a midfielder from Paris, France. “We played well, I’m happy we won. We had to win to have a chance at making the playoffs.”
The Vaqueros are in 17th place in the RPI rankings, as of 6 p.m. on Friday, and the top 14 make the Southern Cal Regional.
Mirza Dizdarevic slid a short pass to Genthon in the 36th minute and the freshman from Houston, Texas scored between the goalie and the right post for a 2-0 halftime lead. SBCC dominated possession in the opening half and outshot the Raiders 19-0.
Genthon had entered the game as a substitute six minutes before he scored.
Dickinson opened the second-half scoring, knocking in a header off a corner kick by William Joyce in the 49th minute. Ten minutes later, Kebba Nyang took a long pass from Sebbah and got free for a 1-on-1, dribbling around the keeper and scoring to make it 4-0.
Genthon took a centering pass from Jacob Salas in the 66th minute and hit the net from eight yards in the top-right shelf. Felix Lambias, who had just come in moments earlier, scored from close range on a pass from Jason Winicki to make it 6-0 in the 76th minute.
Genthon completed his second hat trick in the 85th minute, taking a high service from Ryan McGee and heading the ball into the net. He leads the Vaqueros with nine goals and 20 points.
“Nick getting a hat trick … that’s crazy,” said Sebbah. “He started as a center back, then went to defender and goes back to striker and scores three goals. That’s impressive.”
It was the sixth shutout of the year for Zac Gottlieb, who improved to 7-2-1 on the season. He’s recorded shutouts in the last three games and the Vaqueros have outscored their opponents 11-0.
