Vaqueros Play Well, But Fall at Fresno

SANTA BARBARA, CA – The SBCC men's soccer team had its road opener at Fresno on Tuesday, and despite playing some of their best soccer of the young season, unfortunately fell short in a 2-1 defeat.

The Vaqueros are now 1-1-1 on the year, while Fresno maintains its undefeated record at 4-0-1.

"On another hot day, the SBCC boys played a great game," said assistant coach Matt Wilkinson. "We kept the majority of the ball and dominated possession, but were unlucky to concede two counter attack goals against the run of play."

It was a scoreless match until midway through the second half, when Fresno put in two goals within a 10-minute span. Andrew Huerta opened the scoring in the 68th minute and Enrique Gutierrez put the Rams up 2-0 in the 77th.

Santa Barbara tallied 12 shots, six in each half. The Vaqueros were able to find the back of the net in the 90th minute as midfielder/forward Lukas Lovgren scored his first of the season.

"Lukas scored a great free kick late on to pull one back, but it wasn't enough in the end," Wilkinson said. "I am proud of the effort and the positives we will be taking out of this game. It's the best we have played so far this year."

SBCC is back home for its next two outings, starting this Friday, Sept. 16 against Rio Hondo at 7:00 p.m. at La Playa Stadium.