Mekaylla White returned from injury with a bang on Tuesday night, scoring a natural hat trick in SBCC's 4-1 dismantling of No. 15 Cuesta in a battle for first in the WSC North women's soccer race.
The Vaqueros (8-6-2, 5-1-1) outshot the visiting Cougars 20-0 in the second half and 29-4 for the game. SBCC set season highs for shots (29) and shots on goal (19) while only allowing two shots on goal.
Cuesta (12-3-1, 5-2-1) entered the game as the ninth-best scoring team in the state, averaging 3.07 goals and 15.3 shots per game. The Cougars handed the Vaqueros their only conference loss, 2-0, on Oct. 4 in San Luis Obispo.
White, a freshman striker from Folsom, gave SBCC a 2-1 halftime lead by running onto a long through ball from Sean O'Brien and beating the keeper in a 1-on-1 breakaway, rolling the ball to the right side at the 43:40 mark.
White struck again in the 52nd minute on a similar through ball after a steal by Savannah Mohatt. She sprinted toward the goal and beat the keeper inside the left post. She got her second hat trick in three games from 12 yards out at 86:10. Mohatt set her up again and White drove the ball off the goalie's hands and it trickled into the right corner.
White got her first college hat trick on Oct. 15 in a 6-0 win over Hancock. She has 11 goals on the season, the second-most in the WSC North.
She missed the previous two games with a concussion.
"Honestly, the offense and the midfield were clicking at the same time," said White. "The midfield was connecting with each other and they were able to find us making those runs. We got a lot more shots than usual."
In the 84th minute, White was on the doorstep of the goal and shot it too high. Two minutes later, she scored the natural hat trick with her third goal in a row.
"On the third goal, I was able to turn the defender and place it in the right corner," said White.
Molly Branigan staked the Vaqueros to a 1-0 lead at 14:45, taking a pass from Olivia Berntsson and burying a shot from 15 yards out. Cuesta tied it up 75 seconds later when Emma Nushi fired in a 19-yard shot from a sharp angle on the right of the box. It caromed off the left post and in.
"I thought the midfield played very well," said SBCC coach John Sisterson. "We told them to get on the front foot and keep looking to play it forward. Mekaylla and Sean played well. I thought Monica Pizano was tremendous on the right side, she never stopped working hard. She's got a little trickery about her and she created a lot of opportunities.
"There were some very good balls played in from the midfield. And we could have had a few more."
O'Brien hit the crossbar in the 58th minute and Jessica Salas found herself all alone five yards in front of the net and somehow booted it over the goal at 69:02.
Cuesta goalie Magaly Avila was busy all night, making 15 saves. Savannah Ayers made her first start in goal in six weeks for the Vaqueros and only had to make one save early in the contest.
SBCC will play three on the road in six days next week. They'll play at L.A. Pierce (Tuesday at 3 p.m.) and Hancock (Friday at 3 p.m.), then travel to Ventura for a rare Sunday game at 6 p.m. in a makeup from the Oct. 25 game that was postponed by fire.
Molly Branigan, a freshman midfielder from Roseville, Calif., scored the game's first goal in the
15th minute. It was her fourth tally of the year. (Photo by Ken Sciallo/Sevilla Photography)
