Gauchos battle Wolverines in opener

Saddleback opened the 2016 campaign with a matchup against a Northern California power on Thursday.  The Gauchos played gamely, falling to Sierra College 18-15.

Saddleback opened the season with a number of new faces and facing a program that was the No. 5 seed up north for the 2015 playoffs, so they had plenty of reasons to be concerned.  The Gauchos turned concern into optimism by playing the Wolverines tough.

Saddleback trailed 2-1 after one quarter and was tied 5-5 at the half.  Maddie Alexander opened the scoring for the Gauchos at the 6:03 mark of the first quarter, tying the game at 1-1.  Alexander (pictured) would add four more goals in the second half in leading the team with five.  Her goal at the 7:26 mark of the third quarter gave Saddleback a 6-5 lead, which ended up being the last time the Gauchos would lead in the game. 

Sierra scored four straight goals to take a 9-6 lead.  The Gauchos would close the gap to two on three separate occasions but Sierra would go on another run in the fourth quarter by scoring four straight goals for a 17-11 lead. 

Saddleback will now host a tournament on Friday and Saturday, opening with a game against Palomar College on Friday at 12:30 PM.