Cats fill up nets in opener

The Saddleback women's soccer team opened up its state title defense with a 7-1 win over San Diego Mesa College on Tuesday in San Diego.  The Bobcats exploded for five goals in the second half.

Saddleback is nearly nine months removed from winning the first state championship in program history.  The Bobcats lost six players to four-year programs during the hiatus, so many wondered what they would get on day one of the 2023 campaign.

The Bobcats scored a pair of goals in the opening 14 minutes, with Mazey Kasberg scoring off a pass from Chloe Green, and Alyssa Sims being credited with a goal off an own-goal miscue from the Olympians. 

Saddleback then went quiet for the rest of the half, with Mesa narrowing the gap to 2-1 in the 37^th minute.  The score would remain the same heading into the locker rooms.

The coaches took the break to refocus the team, and they responded in kind.  The Bobcats completely dominated the second half to run and hide with a 7-1 win.

Chloe Green had back-to-back dazzling goals in the 52^nd and 59^th minutes to put the game out of reach.  The first came off a pass from Alexa Livingstone for a 3-1 advantage while the second made it 4-1 off a feed from Emma Radzai.

Saddleback added three more goals in the late stages with Anjelina Nieto,  Isabelle Whittaker and Chloe Campagne scoring in the 68^th, 70^th and 80^th minutes, respectively. 

Saddleback will play again on Friday and Sunday in the Mt. San Antonio College Tournament.  The Bobcats will face San Joaquin Delta College on Friday, the program they faced in the state semifinals last December.  Kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 PM.