The San Marcos High boys’ soccer team started strong and held on late to capture a 2-1 victory over Santa Barbara in a hotly contested rivalry match Wednesday night at Peabody Stadium.
The Royals got goals from Sergio Ramirez and Luis Campos, which proved enough to withstand a furious Santa Barbara rally in the closing minutes. With the victory, San Marcos kept pace with Oxnard for first place in the Channel League.
“This game is always such an outstanding contest that makes us both better every time we play,” San Marcos coach Paul McLean said of the rivalry with Santa Barbara.
The field tilted toward San Marcos early, as the Royals smoothly knocked the ball around, creating several goal-scoring opportunities.
The payoff came in the 26th minute, when Ramirez dribbled into space and lined up a right-footed shot from 25 yards out that smacked the back of the net. The goal was an incredible mixture of power and precision and gave the Royals a 1-0 lead.
“That’s always what I like — 1v1, attacking the defender, trying new things, and getting the shot off,” Ramirez said. “Sometimes you regret those shots. Sometimes you think after the game that you should have shot because you had the space and time to go. I just decided, why not?”
Santa Barbara made tactical adjustments at halftime and came out with renewed intensity that leveled the playing field. In the 58th minute, a yellow card was assessed against the Santa Barbara bench.
Moments later, Earl Manamea dribbled through several defenders into the box and created a corner-kick opportunity. Pablo Desales appeared to score off the ensuing set piece, but the goal was wiped away by officials due to a handball violation.
“I think the big difference in this game was the first half. As soon as the whistle blew, San Marcos was just on it. They came out firing — they came out wanting it more in the first half,” Santa Barbara coach Ricard Alcaraz said. “We did match it in the second half. I thought in the second half we were the better team, but [high school] soccer is 80 minutes, not 40.”
In the 74th minute, San Marcos scored its second goal on a corner kick. Wes Monroy sent the ball high into the air, and Campos rose for a header that was perfectly placed over the Santa Barbara goalkeeper.
The Dons got a goal back in the 77th minute on a penalty kick. The San Marcos goalkeeper was called for a foul in the box, and Desales calmly converted the opportunity with a left-footed shot to the right of the goalkeeper, cutting Santa Barbara’s deficit to 2-1.
However, San Marcos was able to halt the Dons’ desperate attempts at an equalizer in the closing minutes to claim the victory.
With the win, San Marcos improved to 8-3-1 overall and 6-1-1 in Channel League play. Santa Barbara dropped to 6-7-1 overall and 3-5 in league action.
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