SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Facing College of the Canyons on Friday night, the SBCC men's soccer team remained undefeated at home in 2021, taking a decisive 3-0 win.
It was the third consecutive home shutout for the Vaqueros, who improve to 4-2-2 on the year. Canyons falls to 2-4-3.
Santa Barbara threatened from the early-going with aggressive offensive play and some clever passing. The Vaqueros would find their breakthrough in the 10th minute.
A perfectly placed through ball from midfielder Joep Wouters Van den Oudenweijer saw forward Bart Muns get behind the Cougars' back four and into a clear one-on-one from more than 30 yards out. After a couple dribbles, the Amsterdam, Holland native calmly slotted it past the keeper's left hip to make it 1-0.
Just eight minutes later, a fortunate bounce led to another Vaquero goal. While pushing into the attacking third, forward William Lindblom had his pass attempt deflected as a pair of defenders converged on him, but it would fall perfectly back into his stride as he approached the 18-yard box.
The Vaqueros reacted faster than the defense. Tanner Stevenson made a quick diagonal run and Lindblom neatly slotted a ball in to put him through on goal. Without much time or room to work with, the forward popped a shot up and past the keeper, settling once again just inside the right post.
The middle of the match reached a bit of a lull with SBCC comfortably holding its 2-0 lead. Against an increasingly forward-pushing Canyons' offense, the Vaqueros waited patiently for their chance to capitalize.
That patience was paid off with a counterattack in the 78th minute. Following a Canyons' set piece, a possession switch would see Muns receive the ball in right back territory. He then cut right through the backpedaling defense with a deep diagonal through ball on the ground, perfectly leading Will Demirkol in behind the defense.
The freshman forward finished as clinically as Muns had earlier in the match, beating the keeper on another SBCC 1-on-1 to give the home side a 3-0 advantage.
That was the 10th unanswered goal in a row for SBCC at La Playa Stadium. Overall, the Vaqueros have outscored opponents 11-1 at home this year, where they boast a 3-0-1 record.
They will look to maintain that mark during the remainder of their three-game home stand, which continues on Tuesday, Sept. 28 in a 2:00 p.m. matchup with East Los Angeles.
