The Santa Rosa Junior College men’s soccer team (8-0-2) secured its 400th win under head coach Marty Kinahan, beating American River College (3-6-1) 2-0 Friday afternoon.
As of Sept. 30, the Bear Cubs are ranked No. 6 in the state by 3C2A.
Off the heels of a five-game win streak, SRJC kept the momentum going with its first conference win of the season, scoring two goals in the first half and coasting through the second with impenetrable defense and fierce ball possession against ARC.
SRJC ranks No. 1 in both conference and overall in 3C2A’s 2025-26 men’s soccer season with 117 points, 103 shots and 38 goals across 10 games — whereas ARC ranks No. 54.
The pressure was on and the first half was heated with constant back-and-forth, double headers, fouls and penalty kicks galore.
SRJC found their groove 31 minutes in when forward/midfielder Klebor Maldonado, assisted by outside mid David Padney, scored SRJC’s first goal after a persistent offense wore through ARC’s defenses.
“Scoring the first goal was a highlight of my day,” Maldonado said.
“[The first goal] took a little pressure off cause we were playing stiff — it didn’t seem like we were flowing,” Kinehan said.
Despite a cold forecast and possibility of rain, families and friends of SRJC players packed into the bleachers to support the Bear Cubs first conference game of the season.
The dreary weather cleared eight minutes later, when central midfielder Dominic Sanchez, assisted by Edgar Nunez, scored the second and final goal by rolling through ARC’s defenses and arcing the ball deceptively high over the stationary goalie.
The first half ended 2-0 with five shots and five corner kicks from SRJC.
Despite a powerful shot on goal and two diligent corner kicks, SRJC coasted through the second half by exploiting gaps in ARC’s offense, passing the ball unopposed to back players in a full throttle game of keepaway.
“We could handle them and we knew what they were gonna play like and their style,” Padney said.
The Sonoma County weather proved difficult for ARC, whose play was impeded by slippery turf and frequent fumbles against the ball, sometimes involving two or more players.
“We have a lot to prove still,” Maldonado said. “I trusted my team a lot, and we came out with a good game plan and got the job done.”
The Bear Cubs play at Modesto Oct. 7 before returning home to play Folsom Lake Oct. 10.
