October 17, 2024
The Vaqueros women's soccer team remains undefeated in conference play with a 4-0 win over the Ventura College Pirates on Thursday. Both teams came into the match with 4-0-0 records against conference opponents, vying for the top spot in the standings. The Pirates were winners of nine straight contests and hadn't lost since August. SBCC gained momentum early. In the 4th minute, Madison Dodson forced the Pirates to make a pass under duress, and Alyssa Placido intercepted it in front of the goal before the striker deposited the opening goal.
The Vaqueros would strike twice more before the end of the half. Placido scored on a centering pass from Cara Christopherson in the 40th minute. Three minutes later, Kacey Renga would take control of a bouncing ball and find Placido on the other side of the field for a first-half hat trick.
Placido recorded multiple-goal efforts in back-to-back games after a pair of tallies in Tuesday's win over Oxnard College. In the 72nd minute, Dodson scored off a rebound from Renga's shot. Carolina Esparza, the defender pressed into service as the Vaquero's goalkeeper, recorded her third consecutive shutout with two saves. Coach Alexander Zermeno noted, "A result on the road against your rival is always sweet, but the part that people didn't know [is] we were down our starting goalkeeper [and] our starting center-back due to illness. Players stepped up big and showed that we have depth on this team." Defender Morgan Grove got her first start of the season.
Over the last five games, the Vaqueros have outscored their opponents 14-2. SBCC improves to 10-2-2 on the year and 5-0-0 in conference play. They sit atop the conference standings, one game ahead of Ventura.
The women's team plays again on Tuesday, October 22, at Pierce College.
