SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – In the final minutes of a highly competitive Thursday night showdown between the SBCC men's soccer team and visiting Antelope Valley College, Will Demirkol scored one of the goals of the year to put the Vaqueros on top 2-1.
Taking it down the left wing on an 89th minute SBCC counterattack, the freshman forward beat his man and approached the box where a second Pioneer defender planned to meet him. Before the defense could converge, Demirkol struck with assured confidence from 27 yards out, sending it flying past the diving keeper to the far post and into the back of the net.
That broke what had been an evenly matched 1-1 deadlock for the majority of the second half, giving the Vaqueros their fifth consecutive win at La Playa Stadium. SBCC improves to 6-2-2 overall, while AVC takes just its second loss of the year to fall to 7-2-2.
"It was a competitive game that both teams wanted to win," head coach John Sisterson said. "The winning goal from Will was out of the top drawer. It came at the right time and he showed us the skill, composure and flair that he's been showing us in training. If he keeps doing that, he has a bright future ahead."
Much earlier in the night, Demirkol played a part in SBCC's first goal. After a deep Pioneer throw-in was cleared to midfield in the 8th minute, sophomore forward Bart Muns outmuscled his man to win possession and got it out wide with a sound first-time pass.
Demirkol made a quick cut infield before sending it ahead through the air with the outside of his foot. Muns brought it down once again, taking another defender off the dribble to setup a fiery left-footed strike past the keeper's right hip and in, opening the scoring.
"We started off on the front foot and scored a very good goal when Bart put us ahead from a great ball from Will," Sisterson said. "We always looked like scoring another with Bart always looking dangerous."
Following the early goal, both sides would have their chances. The Pioneers came extremely close to tying it before the end of the opening half, with a shot clanging off the post and out of touch after SBCC goalkeeper Adrian Gonzalez came rushing off his line.
The Pioneers would finally equalize in the 59th minute, working the ball down the right side before a low, powered cross found Fabian Duran right in the center of the box for a tap-in goal.
The fouls began to pile up in the final third of the match, and just as it seemed we were headed towards a 1-1 scoreline through 90 minutes, SBCC's final chance appeared as if out of thin air.
AVC had numbers forward looking to break the tie, but an offside call gave possession to the Vaqueros on their defensive end. While the Pioneers stood around, SBCC midfielder Paulo Carrillo-Weisenburger put it back in play with an extremely fast restart.
That caught the defense sleeping, and forward Tanner Stevenson then sent it out wide to Demirkol, who scored his fifth goal of the season in dramatic fashion. The five goals trail only Muns, who earlier bagged his team-leading sixth of the year.
Just as they had done on the scoreboard, the Vaqueros doubled the Pioneers in shots, 18-9. Gonzalez ended the day with two saves.
"We've got al ot of technical ability on this team," Sisterson said. "It was important that we dug in deep and worked hard."
Following an undefeated three-game home stand, the Vaqueros will be back on the road for a pair of conference outings against Allan Hancock and Oxnard next Tuesday and Friday, respectively.
