Freshman defender Madison Mitchell notched SBCC's first goal of the year in the 64th minute on Thursday morning, tying the women's soccer season opener with Citrus, 1-1. The Owls struck back five minutes later and held on for a 2-1 victory in the New Balance Classic at Ventura College.
Savannah Ayers, a sophomore goalie from Monterey, recorded seven saves, including a 1-on-1 breakaway in the second half.
"It's disappointing to lose after we got back in the game in the second half," said SBCC's John Sisterson, who's starting his 15th season as head coach. "Then we had a goal disallowed.
"We should have scored in the last minute when the ball was bouncing around in front of their net. Lala (Lourdes Marin-Rodriguez) had a great shot hit the post and come back out."
Citrus (1-1) took a 1-0 lead on a goal two minutes into the second half.
The Vaqueros (0-1) will play another early morning game in the New Balance Classic on Saturday when they take on Sierra at 8 a.m. at Ventura.
Sierra was fifth in the state last year with a 22-2-1 record and the top seed for the Northern California playoffs. SBCC also finished fifth in the state in 2018 and compiled a 16-3-2 mark.
