Gauchos too deep for Spartans

The Saddleback women's soccer team improved to 2-0 on Friday with a 2-0 win at MiraCosta College in Oceanside.  The Gauchos and Spartans battled in 95-degree heat.

Saddleback's roster was much deeper and proved to be too much for MiraCosta, who wore down towards the end of each half with temperatures in the mid-90's and high humidity.  Saddleback broke the ice in the 40^th minute when Jessica Kron (pictured) took a pass from Collette Halloran and rattled one off the crossbar from 35-yards out.  It was part of a 10-minute span where the ball rarely left the MiraCosta end of the field.

The second half played out the same, with the Spartans playing gamely for the first 30 minutes and surrendering few opportunities to the Saddleback offense.  The Gauchos continued to roll players in and out of the game, while MiraCosta was the victim of a short bench.  Saddleback again wore them down, scoring in the 87^th minute when Madie Bigcas took a pass from Lily Woo and buried in the back of the net for the final nail in the coffin.

Defensively, Saddleback was nearly impenetrable.  The Gauchos allowed just two shots on keeper Dz-Rae Jara, who recorded her second consecutive shutout to start the season.

Saddleback will try to make it three in a row when they travel to Long Beach City College on Tuesday.  Game time is scheduled for 2:00 PM.