Vaqueros beat Ventura 2-1 in 1st-place battle; Sisterson gets 200th win

SBCC followed a similar script to its first meeting with Ventura by taking a 2-0 lead in the second half of Sunday night's first-place showdown and then holding on for a 2-1 women's soccer victory at the VC Sportsplex.

The two-time defending WSC champion Vaqueros are 10-6-3 overall and 7-1-2 in the WSC North. They have 23 points, second-place Cuesta (6-3-2) has 20 and Ventura (11-5-3, 6-3-1) has 19 points. SBCC and Ventura have two games remaining while Cuesta has one.

The Vaqueros are unbeaten against Ventura in the last three seasons (5-0-1).

SBCC coach John Sisterson posted his 200th win with the women's team. He's 200-67-50 in 15 seasons for a .710 winning percentage.

Mekaylla White opened the scoring in the 33rd minute, taking a long pass from Sean O'Brien and heading it past the keeper. Molly Branigan hit a solid free kick in the 63rd minute and the ball banged off the crossbar to O'Brien, who scored her third goal in the last two games for a 2-0 lead.

"We played very well in the first half and we could have had more," said SBCC coach John Sisterson. "Sean was brought down in the box twice but the referee didn't call it either time. Sean played a nice weighted ball over the top of the defense for Mekaylla to score the first goal. Molly's free kick was a 35-yard rocket that hit the underside of the bar and came right to Sean."

A few minutes later, White created a 1-on-1 chance with the keeper but shot the ball wide.

Ventura pulled within a goal, 2-1, when Jacky Espinosa scored from just outside the box in the 74th minute.

"We defended well and correctly when under pressure," said Sisterson. "Everyone worked hard and was mentally strong in an end-to-end high-tempo game. I was very proud of the women tonight, not only for the win but for their work rate,, character and attitude."

SBCC will play its last two WSC games at home, taking on Oxnard on Tuesday at 7 p.m. and Moorpark on Friday at 1 p.m.


Vaqueros celebrate Mekaylla White's team-leading 12th goal. She's the top scorer in the WSC
North with nine goals in eight conference games. (Photo by Ken Sciallo/Sevilla Photography)