Santa Barbara ends SMC Women's Soccer home game winning streak
The Santa Monica College (SMC) Women’s Soccer team took the field on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019 to face off against the Santa Barbara Vaqueros. The Corsairs went into their third home game of the 2019-20 season with an undefeated record.
Santa Barbara took the lead early on, scoring their first goal before 10 minutes passed in the first half. With momentum from their first goal, Santa Barbara's Jessica Salas scored at the 35-minute mark lengthening the gap between the Vaqueros and the Corsairs. SMC spent the majority of the first half in Santa Barbara's danger zone, largely thanks to forward Cierra Little and midfielder Narumi Kamiya.
With two minutes left in the first half, SMC goalie Evelyn Jimenez jumped high enough to deflect the ball off her fingertips and right over the goal for the save. However, at the end of the first half the score remained the same with the Vaqueros leading 2-0.
In the second half, the Corsairs started to steal back some momentum. At the 31-minute mark, midfielder Dayli Ramos made a corner kick that bounced off of a Vaqueros defender and into the goal. With two minutes left in the second half, SMC trailing by one, Little made a valiant effort but missed a shot wide of the net.
SMC lost their first home game to Santa Barbara, 2-1, in a tight match up. SMC head coach Aaron Benditson is undeterred however, maintaining an optimistic view for the rest of the season.
“Our goal for the upcoming season is to play to the best of our ability every time we get an opportunity to represent ourselves on the field," Benditson said. "Enjoy and learn from one another as students, friends and competitors and to make a memorable historic experience for everyone involved."
While the Corsairs' home game winning streak came to an end, the team is ranked well in the Western State-North Conference and has the support of the Santa Monica community.
Benditson continued to explain that, “the SMC community who come to watch us play will always see a group that is extremely organized, hard working and plays the game in a positive spirit that represents our program’s, athletic department and schools culture.”
The Corsairs will get a chance to bounce back from this loss on Sept. 27 against Fullerton College.