Bobcats surge into 3rd

The Saddleback men's soccer team moved into third place in the Orange Empire Conference standings with a 2-1 win at Orange Coast College on Friday in Costa Mesa.  The Bobcats scored in the final minutes to move three games above .500 for the season.

Saddleback has just two games remaining during their inaugural regular season and someone forgot to tell the kids they are just a bunch of freshman with no chance of making the playoffs.  The Bobcats are busy writing their own script, and just guaranteed themselves of finishing .500 or better for the year with a chance of making the playoffs.

Saddleback scored quickly on Friday when Joel Smith connected in the third minute off a pass from Juan Ponce for a 1-0 advantage.  Later in the half, OCC tied the score in the 40^th minute as the two squads went to the locker rooms tied at 1-1.

Saddleback and Orange Coast remained tied until the latter stages when Saddleback pulled a rabbit out of a hat for a second straight game.  Andrew Jun scored in the 87^th minute off a pass from Kevin Sanchez as the Saddleback faithful erupted on the sidelines.  The goal put the Bobcats ahead for good and ran their unbeaten string to four games.

With the win, Saddleback is now in a three-way tie for third place in the conference with Golden West College and Cypress College.  In addition, the Bobcats moved into 14^th in the Southern California power points with the top 16 teams making the playoffs at the end of the season.

Saddleback will look to continue the hot streak on Tuesday when they host one of the top teams in the region in Irvine Valley College.  The Bobcats and Lasers are scheduled to start at 3:00 PM inside the stadium.