Santa Ana, CA — The Foothill Knights came back to Mater Dei as part of a Winter Showcase on Thursday and Friday before the New Year to take on Santa Barbara and Pacifica (Oxnard). The event was orchestrated by the coaches looking to get competitive matches with quality teams before seasons opens in January. Thursday's matchups were Foothill (A) v Santa Barbara (H) at 4pm and Pacifica (Oxnard) (A) v Mater Dei (H) at 6pm. The Knights and Dons were deadlocked until the 19th minute when the Knights' pressure lead to a turnover by the Santa Barbara keeper inside the box and Jacob Garcia finished to give the Knights a 1-0 lead. Foothill continued to press the opposition and created quite a few dangerous chances but could not find the back of the net. Santa Barbara did not fold and continued to counterattack, however, the Knights were the next on the scoreboard with a goal from Kevin Ambrocio in the 33rd minute assisted by Saul Fiallos to put them up 2-0. Just before the half, the Knights failed to clear a bouncing ball in their own box and the Dons converted despite an initial save by Josh Picker. The half ended 2-1 with Foothill on top. Foothill came out of the break with high energy and kept Santa Barbara pinned in their half for the first 10 minutes of the second half except for a couple counterattacks that were shut down by the Knights' defense. In the 53rd minute, Tyler Valdez netted a scorcher from 25 yards out that beat the keeper, ricocheting off the top bar and slamming violently off the ground and back up into the top netting. The assist was provided by Jacob Garcia who calmly received the free kick from Isaac Garduño and set the ball to set up the shot. Santa Barbara was not to be discounted and converted a counter goal in the 70th minute to make it 3-2. After the play, Josh Picker was shoved in the back all the way into the net by a Santa Barbara player trying to get the ball for quick kickoff. Tyler Reid was cautioned for defending his keeper and the Santa Barbara player was also shown a yellow card. Given the moment and situation, it arguably could have been red for the Dons player. Santa Barbara continued to press, playing very direct, and the Knights were goaded into the same game for most of the last 10 minutes. Despite allowing the Dons to dictate the pace of play for the end of the game, Foothill bent but did not break under the pressure and were rewarded with a 3-2 win over the #1 team in Santa Barbara County. The Knights showed resilience and composure in the contest and appear to be growing more confident as a team. Excellent play by Quinn Frye, Isaac Garduño, Garrett Zehner, Trent Samaha, and Mitch Sampson helped the Knights secure the W. Foothill takes on Pacifica (Oxnard) tomorrow at 4pm at Mater Dei. Thank you again to Mater Dei for hosting the event.