The SBCC men’s soccer team earned a third straight draw at home on Tuesday against Bakersfield, finishing with a 2-2 tie.
The Vaqueros (1-1-4) kept the pressure on the Bakersfield (3-2-4) defense throughout the match, forcing goalkeeper Victor Melendez to make seven saves on the night. However, it was the Renegades who struck first.
Bakersfield’s Marco Guerrero swung in a corner kick from the right side in the 39th minute, and Angel Sandoval timed his jump to power down a bouncing header inside the near post to open the scoring.
In one of their most beautiful sequences of build-up play so far this season, the Vaqueros equalized in the 60th minute. A series of quick passes in midfield ended up leading sophomore forward Will Demirkol on the right wing. His shot from about 18 yards out met the keeper’s gloves as he hit the floor, but it had enough pace and Melendez wasn’t able to keep the shot out of the net, giving Demirkol his first goal of the year.
About five minutes later, SBCC earned a free kick on the left side about 26 yards away from goal. Sophomore midfielder/forward Lukas Lovgren stepped up to take it, firing a hard-hit shot towards the far post that bounced right past Melendez and in to put the Vaqueros ahead.
Unfortunately for SBCC, for the third straight home game, the visiting team would find a second half equalizer. Bakersfield worked it nicely in the attacking third, and a ball sent across the box trickled over to Colin Uzih, who placed a well-struck shot into the top right corner of the far post to seal the 2-2 draw.
NOTABLE
- The Vaqueros set a season-highs with 18 shots and nine shots on goal. Midfielder Timo Jansen had a team-high four shots.
- Forward Bart Muns put two shots on target to lead the way. It was just the second time that Muns, the team’s leading goalscorer (4), has not scored this season.
NEXT UP
Santa Barbara hits the road for its next two outings, starting with a Friday, Sept. 23 trip to face Canyons at 7 p.m.
Michael Jorgenson works in communications/media relations at Santa Barbara City College.
email: sports@newspress.com
