Mekaylla White notched her third hat trick of the season to lead the SBCC women’s soccer team to a 6-0 rout of Oxnard on Tuesday night at La Playa Stadium.
It was a win coupled with Cuesta’s 2-0 victory over Ventura earlier in the day that clinched the third straight Western State Conference North title for the Vaqueros (11-6-3, 8-1-2 WSC North).
“I’m so happy for the girls. It’s all about them,” SBCC coach John Sisterson said. “I’m so proud of them. We started off (the season) a little bit rough. We lost four games, but I knew we were better than that.
“We were losing games against some good opposition, Fresno, Sierra and teams like that. I always had faith in them. It was just a new squad and it was just a matter of time, and getting it right at the right time. … They’re coming right at the right time, and that’s important for the playoffs.”
Oxnard arrived at La Playa Stadium without a win this season and with only 11 players.
White got things going in the 10th minute with her first goal of the night off an assist from Sean O’Brien that made it 1-0. White struck again in the 39th with a left-footed blast from 21 yards that settled low and inside the left post for a 2-0 advantage.
She tallied her third of the match in the 74th, which made it 5-0. White was asked if it was a challenge not to play down to Oxnard’s level — a team that is 0-20-1 and 0-11-0 in the WSC North.
“A lot of times when you’re playing a team that’s not as good as you, you tend to drop your level to their level, but today I really think we didn’t do that,” she said. “At first it was a little slow, but I think we picked it up and were able to keep scoring and keep working together.
“Yes, (playing down to a team’s level) happens a lot of times, but I don’t think that happened to us tonight.”
As the score might indicate, the Vaqueros dominated in every facet of the match.
SBCC outshot Oxnard 34-4, which included 21 shots on goal. The score would have been a lot more lopsided had it not been for the outstanding goalkeeping of Condors sophomore Jadelyn Villasenor, who finished with 15 saves.
“I thought we played very well,” Sisterson said. “It’s unfortunate (Oxnard didn’t have any players to substitute), but sometimes you’ve got to motivate yourself and treat them with respect. It’s a funny old game and you never know what can happen.
“It’s important that we get in the right frame of mind for the better opposition we’re going to be playing in the playoffs. Overall, I thought they passed the ball well and took their chances well and defended well. I thought they also had the correct attitude to win the game.”
SBCC led 3-0 at halftime after a goal by Monica Pizano in the 43rd minute.
The Vaqueros made it 4-0 on a goal by Lourdes Marin-Rodriguez in the 59th, and finished the scoring with a tally by Alajandra Alvarez in the 87th.
White’s hat trick gave her a WSC North-leading 15 goals this season.
“It feels really good,” White said when asked about being conference champions. “Everyone is super excited. I think we just really want to go into playoffs and play as a team and just do super well.
“We know we can. We came a long way, so I have faith that we can do it.”
email: gfall@newspress.com
