Prideful and pugnacious, the Ventura College women's soccer team refused to give an inch Monday night. Never mind a title.

And its 11-year reign atop the Western State Conference lived to see another day.

Sophomore striker Laura Roberts scored two goals, star defender Michelle Jameson netted her first collegiate goal and goalkeeper Alyse Quiroz sparkled as Ventura handed Santa Barbara City its first loss of the season, 4-2, at the VC Sportsplex.

On the night it could have been eliminated from contention for the first time in the program's 11-year history, the 11-time defending WSC North champion played like so many of those have come before.

Santa Barbara City (14-, 5-1-1) had allowed seven goals in its 17 previous matches this season and one in its last nine hours of soccer. Yet they conceded four times to Ventura (10-4-3, 5-2) to fall six points behind first-place Moorpark (15-0-3, 7-0-1).

" We Play Hard,' right?" said assistant coach Steve Monka. "Isn't that what this school is all about?"

It was a night for the sophomores to stand up and be counted. Jameson tapped in from a corner kick to give Ventura a 14th-minute lead.

Roberts scored from 40 yards to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes. Then, after the Vaqueros pulled one back right before halftime, converted a breakaway to restore the two-goal lead in the 64th minute.

"That's playoff soccer right there," said Monka. "We were playing for our lives."

But no player symbolized the night more than sophomore fullback Yvette Prado, who went nose to nose with a Vaqueros player with VC leading 3-1 with 10 minutes to play.

"We slugged it out," said Jameson. "This is the way we've been capable of playing all season."

Prado was sent off for the altercation. As she left the field, she confronted another Santa Barbara player after, she said, she was called an ethnic slur.

"I wasn't going to back down," said Prado.

Her teammates got the message.

"You play for this team and it plays for you," said Quiroz. "That's what we're here for."

Santa Barbara made it 3-2 with five minutes to play and pressed for an equalizer before Brianna Magdaleno scored Ventura's fourth goal in second-half stoppage time.

Written off what has developed into a race between rivals Santa Barbara and Moorpark, Ventura refused to play the part of the beaten champion.

And it holds out hope of a miraculous recovery.

"Of course," said Quiroz. "Anything's possible."