Gauchos beat inner-district rivals

The Saddleback women's soccer defeated inner-district rival Irvine Valley College, 2-0, on Tuesday at the Great Park in Irvine.  The Gauchos will play their final game of the regular season on Friday.

Saddleback is going to need some help if it plans on playing in the post-season, and picking up a win against IVC on Tuesday won't hurt.  The Gauchos moved into sole possession of fifth place in the Orange Empire Conference and with a win over Orange Coast on Friday would cement a fifth place finish in the OEC with a solid overall record.

Saddleback scored the opening goal of the game when Caitlin Dolan found the back of the net, unassisted, in the 20^th minute.  It was Dolan's fifth goal of the season, tying her for the team lead with Julia Lawson.

Saddleback added an insurance goal in the 50^th minute when Natally Gomez fed Kenya Salgado for her second goal of the season.  It left little hope for IVC in a game where the Gauchos led the Lasers 12-2 in shots on goal.

Saddleback goalkeeper Nina Ferreira played all 90 minutes in goal, stopping both Irvine Valley shots on goal in picking up the win.

Saddleback is now 8-6-5 overall and 5-6-4 in Orange Empire Conference play.  The Gauchos will finish the regular season at home against Orange Coast College on Friday.  Game time is scheduled for 1:00 PM at the Great Park in Irvine. 

Saddleback is currently in 23^rd in Southern California in power points, with 19 teams qualifying for the Southern California Regional Playoffs.  The Gauchos would need to leapfrog four teams in the power points in order to have any chance at qualifying, one of which is Orange Coast (22^nd).