SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The SBCC men's soccer team continued its run of home dominance on Tuesday afternoon at La Playa Stadium, using a first half offensive explosion to cruise to a 6-2 victory over East Los Angeles.
Santa Barbara improves to 5-2-2 on the year, while the Huskies fall to 1-4-5.
"I think the boys started off letting a goal that we didn't expect to concede early on, but they responded very well," head coach John Sisterson said. "Another good win for the boys and I thought we competed against them very well."
Despite the fact the Vaqueros dominated for most of the day, the Huskies actually struck first just a few minutes in. A relaxed SBCC pass was intercepted in dangerous territory, leading to a 1-0 East LA lead in the 6th minute.
Over a wild next 30 minutes, the Vaqueros launched a frenzied attack.
Midfielder Paulo Carrillo-Weisenburger assisted on back-to-back goals in the 10th and 11th minutes. First, he led Bart Muns into the left side of the box where he slipped a shot under the keeper to equalize.
On the Vaqueros' next possession, he found William Lindblom on the left wing. The forward faked right and beat his defender back to the left with a strong controlled dribble to set up his left-footed strike, firing a low controlled shot inside the far post, 2-1.
In the 22nd minute, another incisive pass out of the midfield saw Muns into clear space on a 1-on-1 with the East LA keeper. Muns easily beat him with the dribble and was tripped up in the box, resulting in a yellow card and another scoring opportunity. Carrillo-Weisenburger stepped up to put the penalty away and make it 3-1.
SBCC refused to back off, needing less than two minutes to add to its lead yet again. Lindblom scored his second of the day, once again beating his defender on the left side before forcing a shot through traffic and into the back of the net.
The Vaqueros made it 5-1 in the 28th minute. Forward Will Demirkol took on three defenders into the box, slipping through with clever and concise dribbling in tight quarters. After being tripped up and earning another Vaquero penalty, he would take it upon himself to put away his lone score of the day from the spot.
Another goal from Muns in the 35th minute came off an assist by Lindblom, putting SBCC up 6-1. That marked the second time in over seven years that the Vaqueros have scored six goals in a half, matching their 6-0 start against East LA back in 2019. The six goals are tied for SBCC's second-highest total since at least 2014.
Muns becomes the first Vaquero with two multi-goal performances this season, having scored two in SBCC's season-opener. He leads the team with five goals, followed by Demirkol with four.
"We scored two quick goals and went on to win the game comfortably. It was important that we gave all the players minutes that were sitting on the bench," Sisterson said. "We tried a few people in different positions. It's always good to do that, especially when we've got one more game before we get into conference and it's important that we get it right. We're taking each game as it comes."
Santa Barbara is now 4-0-1 at home where it has outscored opponents 17-3. The Vaqueros will be back at La Playa Stadium for their next contest against Antelope Valley on Oct. 7 at 7:00 p.m.
