Ventura County FC scored 3 unanswered goals to secure the win over San Jose Earthquakes II at William Rolland Stadium on Saturday night.

The first half of the match remained scoreless with neither side able to convert their chances. Julian Placias broke behind the San Jose backline in the 15th minute, but struck it just wide of the far post. San Jose nearly had the opener just 2 minutes later. Midfielder, Julian Donnery, struck a shot from just inside the box, but Sebastian Conlon was equal to it to keep it 0-0. 

HALFTIME: VCFC 0 – SJ 0

Just 1 minute into the second half, Eric Preston broke the deadlock. After Brett Phan won the ball in the midfield and connected with Luis Müller, Müller slotted it through for Eric Preston running in on the left flank. Preston made no mistake inside the box and netted home his 4th goal of the season. This was Müller’s first assist since returning to VCFC from Germany.

In the 69th minute, Müller added a goal of his own. Phan made a run into the San Jose box, squaring back towards the penalty spot. The San Jose backline initially cleared it away, but with Müller standing right near the clearance, it deflected off the German and into the net. This was Müller’s first goal since his return.

The final nail in the coffin came in the 78th minute from academy product, Angel Villatoro. After Matteo McClean launched the ball from deep in the VCFC half for Villatoro to run onto, San Jose defender Shane de Flores attempted to head it back to his goalkeeper. The header wasn’t strong enough and Villatoro got a touch to it to round the goalkeeper and score on the open goal. This was Villatoro’s first goal of the season and first ever professional goal.

Chances for San Jose for the rest of the second half remained sparse. San Jose nearly had a goal back in the 88th minute if it weren’t for some heroic defending by Riley Dalgado. San Jose forward Jorge Torres Perez won the ball in the VCFC box and curled a shot for the far right post. Conlon couldn’t get a hand to it, but Dalgado was there for the goal line clearance to maintain the clean sheet.

FINAL SCORE: VCFC 3 – SJ 0

MATCH DETAILS

Scoring Summary
46’ – VCFC – Eric Preston (Luis Müller)
69’ – VCFC – Luis Müller
78’ – VCFC – Angel Villatoro

Disciplinary
19’ – SJ – Kaedren Spivey (Yellow)

Statistics
Possession: VCFC 41% – SJ 59%
Shots: VCFC 12 – SJ 15
Shots on Goal: VCFC 4 – SJ 5
Saves: VCFC 4 – SJ 1
Fouls: VCFC 8 – SJ 11
Offsides: VCFC 1 – SJ 2
Corners: VCFC 8 – SJ 3

Ventura County FC
41. Sebastian Conlon, 88. Mason Vanney, 73. Enrique Martinez, 94. Mateo McLean, 50. Riley Dalgado, 90. Brett Phan, 45. Vinny Garcia, 95. Eric Preston (84. Ikenna Chidebe, 90’), 68. Luis Müller (83. Angel Villatoro, 70’), 80. Jeremy Djieze (75. Aaron Medina, 76’), 57. Julian Placias (96. Christian Vanney, 90’)

San Jose Earthquakes II
22, Nate Crockford, 73. Jacob Heisner, 66. Alejandro Cano, 71. Niklas Dossmann, 74. Martin Kwende Junior (99. Shane de Flores, 73’), 38. Edwyn Mendoza, 35. Rohan Rajagopal (50. Jorge Torres Perez, 85’), 52. Julian Donnery, 90. Zachary Bohane (97. Warren Boyce, 85’), 29. Kaedren Spivey (58. Gabriel Bracken Serra, 63’), 70. Tomo Allen (77. Jermaine Spivey, 63’)