Vaqueros ride fast start to fourth straight win, 4-1

SBCC found the net three times in five minutes early in the first half on Tuesday and went on to top Bakersfield 4-1 in a men's soccer match at La Playa Stadium.

The Vaqueros (4-1) have won their last four games by a combined 10-1. They had their 384-minute streak of not allowing a goal snapped in the 79th minute when Edwin Bernal was pulled down near the end line and made the penalty kick for the Renegades.

Bakersfield (1-4-1) is fielding its first men's soccer team in nearly 30 years.

Kevin Kwizera and Victor Chavez both had a goal and assist for SBCC. Kwizera, a 6-3 freshman from Burundi, opened the scoring in the 14th minute with a diving header on a free kick by William Joyce.

"We played very well," said Kwizera. "We have a lot of speed and we're playing better together every game."

Yaya Gassama, a freshman defender from Sweden, made his first appearance of the year in the 17th minute. Fifteen seconds after entering the game, he blasted in a 17-yard goal on a rebound of a shot by Chavez.

One minute later, Kwizera made a short pass to his left and Carlos Espinoza found the back of the net to boost the lead to 3-0. Kwizera hit the crossbar in the 24th minute and the Vaqueros led 3-0 at halftime.

Santa Barbara outshot the visitors 7-1 in the opening half and 15-4 for the game.

Chavez made it 4-0 in the 53rd minute, taking a short rebound, then dribbling by the goalie and ripping a 13-yard shot past a defender into the lower left corner for a 4-0 lead.

"We wanted them to start the way they finished the last game against Cypress (when they scored two goals in a 75-second span of the second half)," said coach John Sisterson. "There was a lot of talk about Bakersfield having their first team in 30 years. We told our guys to treat them with respect and it's not going to be easy because everyone wants to come to Santa Barbara and beat us.

"We got goals from four guys today and that's the fruition of our hard work."

Sisterson played 23 players in the nonconference game, with eight subs coming in at the 62:25 mark.

The Vaqueros will play their fourth straight home game on Friday when they host the Glendale Vaqueros at 2 p.m.