Lena Gustafsson wasn't trying to score when she unleashed a 25-yard kick early in Friday's women's soccer game but she was happy when the ball nestled into the upper left corner.
The tally at the 1:20 mark proved to be the only goal of the nonconference game and gave the Vaqueros a 1-0 victory over Canyons. SBCC, ranked No. 9 in the country, improved to 5-0-1 while the No. 11 Cougars fell to 1-1-1.
"It was a throw-in to Kathryn (Sullivan) and she dropped it back to me," said Gustafsson, a sophomore defender from Santa Cruz who was near the right sideline about 16 yards from the end line. "I was just looking to cross the ball and find the girls in the center. It just happened to hit off my foot nicely and went in the back of the net. It was great to get a goal in the first five minutes."
The Vaqueros were outshot 9-4 and had trouble creating chances.
"We had a hard time connecting and getting into the rhythm of it," stated Gustafsson, who scored her first goal of the year. "Usually our strength is going up the sides and we didn't have much of that."
Santa Barbara is 13-0-2 in its last 15 home games, dating back to 2013.
Goalie Alex Camarillo had six saves for the Vaqueros and prevented several goals in the first half. Therese Blackstock had a breakaway in the 23rd minute but Camarillo came out to stop it about 14 yards from the goal. In the 38th minute, she dove to her left to deny another COC player.
"We tell our girls to send some shots in early and test the keeper," said coach John Sisterson. "We were lacking a little up top today. It was a scrappy game. You take what you can get and you work with it."
Sisterson praised the play of defender Andrea Skjold and Camarillo, a freshman from Dos Pueblos who's only allowed two goals in six games. "Steph Romero took a few knocks up front and at times, she was our only striker playing against six defenders," said Sisterson.
SBCC returns to action on Friday, Sept. 25 when it hosts Santa Monica at 7:30 p.m.
