SBCC rode a new goalie and a relentless offense to a 3-0 shutout of Citrus on Tuesday night in the final non-conference men's soccer match at La Playa Stadium.
The 15th-ranked Vaqueros won their fifth in a row and improved to 7-1-1 overall and 5-0-1 at home. They've outscored their opponents 16-4 in the last five games.
The Owls fell to 0-10-2 and suffered their eighth shutout. They've been outscored 35-6 this season.
Patrick Mahon made his first start in goal and recorded three saves, including a dramatic stop of a breakaway shot by Andres Garcia-Fuentes in the 30th minute.
"It was good to get back out there, I just came back from a broken hand," said Mahon, a sophomore from Westlake High in Thousand Oaks. "I was a little rusty and I still have some things to work on. It was a good first game back."
The Vaqueros got all three goals from a pair of San Marcos High graduates. Saul Sosa, a sophomore midfielder, converted penalty kicks in the fifth and 51st minutes while Jonas Romero, a freshman defender, scored with 30 seconds left in the first half to give the Vaqueros a 2-0 halftime lead.
Fernando Ochoa, a freshman forward from Dos Pueblos, was pulled down in the box in the fourth minute. Sosa took the PK and scored in the bottom right corner, just inches past the diving keeper.
Sosa has three PKs in the last two games. He was asked what he does to prepare himself.
"I go in there with a clear head," he said. "I like to spin the ball right before and then place it in the top or bottom corner."
Santa Barbara outshot the Owls 25-10 with an 11-4 advantage in shots on goal.
Adam Chenoweth hit the left post in the 21st minute and made an outstanding free kick from 34 yards near the right sideline that forced a leaping save by goalie Edward Youssef.
At 44:30, Ochoa made a high pass to Romero, who was cutting down the middle. Romero buried a shot from 10 yards out to make it 2-0.
"I thought we played well," said coach John Sisterson. "We got three goals and were able to get some subs in. The PKs were definitely PKs and Chris (Robinson) is a handful to deal with."
Robinson was knocked down in the box early in the second half and Sosa drilled the PK just inside the right post at 50:06.
Luiz Garcia bounced one off the crossbar in the 78th minute. The Vaqueros outshot the Owls 13-5 in the second half.
SBCC will host Hancock in its WSC North opener next Tuesday at 2 p.m.
Sophomore goalie Pat Mahon made three saves in his first college start.
