The Santa Barbara City College women’s soccer team scored twice in the first half against undefeated Allan Hancock on Tuesday night at La Playa Stadium, going on to hand the Pirates their first loss of the season 2-1.
The Vaqueros have now won three straight games to Improve to 4-1-4 overall and 3-0 in WSC play.
The Bulldogs are now 8-1-3 overall, 3-1 conference.
Just as it was in their conference-opening win against Ventura, SBCC scored early on with a Theresa English pass leading to a Sofia Orozco goal.
A turnover in the midfield led to English getting the ball in a central position. Orozco made a diagonal run, and English caught a Bulldog center back in a bad position, leading Orozco through the left side with enough time and space to gather, turn and fire a right-footed shot across her body to the far post for her fourth goal in three games.
On a corner kick seven minutes later, SBCC doubled its lead on Dakota Thyssen’s first career goal. The ball was played into the box, and it found English, who got a back heel touch on it, putting it into an even more dangerous spot.
Thyssen was first to it, and her shot from eight yards met the rushing Allan Hancock goalkeeper, appearing to take a fortuitous deflection off another defender before slowly bouncing into the back of the net.
The Bulldogs got one back early in the second half, making something out of nothing. After earning a throw-in during their attacking third, the ball was flicked into the box with a header that found an AHC forward for a quick and well-placed shot on first contact, making it 2-1.
Goalkeeper Analea Pule made three saves, two coming in the second half, to hold the Bulldogs to a season-low one goal.
After missing the first six games of the season, Orozco has been a revelation for the Vaquero offense. The Santa Barbara native has scored in each of her first three games, already moving into first on the team with four goals. That matches her total from all of last season.
English, meanwhile, increases her lead in assists, totaling four in her last four outings with five total now for the year. That also matches her 2021 total.
SBCC has scored at least two goals in every game since Orozco’s return to the lineup, totaling seven over the last three. The Vaqueros had totaled just six goals over their first six games without her.
The Vaqueros will carry a four-game unbeaten streak into a road matchup 4 p.m. Friday in Oxnard.
Michael Jorgenson works in communications/media relations at Santa Barbara City College.
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