Chavez scores twice in 2-0 win; Sisterson is No. 1 in victories

Victor Chavez scored two goals in a six-minute span of the second half on Tuesday night to lift SBCC to a 2-0 men's soccer win over Hancock in its WSC North opener at La Playa Stadium.

John Sisterson became the all-time winningest coach in SBCC men's soccer history with his 121st triumph in his 10th season. Sisterson is 121-55-29, surpassing longtime UCSB coach Tim Vom Steeg, who was 120-18-7 in the first seven years of the Vaquero program from 1992-98.

"It was in the back of my mind because one of the boys mentioned it last week," said Sisterson of the all-time coaching record. "We were 5-1, then we lost three straight so I didn't know when it would come. It's nice to get it but it's not about me, it's about the team, about our coaching staff and all the great support staff at SBCC.

"In the first half, we created a number of chances but maybe we were a little rusty after taking two weeks off. In the second half, we started moving it around much better. Jessie Jimenez had a great game in center midfield and he settled things down for us."

The Vaqueros are 6-4 overall and 1-0 in conference. Hancock dropped its fourth straight and fell to 2-8-2.

Chavez, a freshman forward, is the first athlete from Garden Street Academy to play on any SBCC team. William Joyce made a long run, then rolled a through ball to Chavez in the 56th minute and he blasted in a left-footed shot from 20 yards.

In the 61st minute, Joyce outworked two defenders near the end line on the left side and made a short pass to Chavez, who scored from three yards out for a 2-0 lead.

"The first goal, I saw an empty space and went for the through ball," said Chavez. "I decided to shoot low and to the right. On the second one, Billy went toward the line on the left and that left an empty spot in the 6-yard box. It was a very smart pass.

"We had a lot of chances tonight. We've been working on our shape, moving side-to-side in practice. In the second half, the ball was in their side most of the time."

Shane Pitcock made a leaping save of a rocket by Bernardo Rubio in the 15th minute. Pitcock made five saves for his fifth shutout, improving to 6-2 on the year.

The Vaqueros outshot their county rivals 10-5 in the second half and 15-10 for the game.

"We had several good chances in the second half, hitting the crossbar and knocking a couple more just wide," Sisterson added. "Victor is composed on the ball and you get something different from him all the time. I thought Shane played very well and had great command of the goal."

Callum Challinor hit the crossbar in a three-shot Vaquero sequence in the 78th minute. In the 88th minute, Nicolas Genthon headed one in from close range but it was erased by an offside call. Genthon, who's been playing defender this year, came on in the 54th minute and played forward for most of the second half.

The Vaqueros travel to defending state champion Oxnard (5-0-7, 1-0) on Friday for a 4 p.m. conference game.