Bobcats claim OEC title

For the first time in history the Saddleback women's soccer program can call themselves Orange Empire Conference champions after defeating Irvine Valley College, 6-0, on Friday at the Great Park in Irvine.  The Bobcats now head to the playoffs after recording their 18^th shutout of the season.

Saddleback led 2-0 at halftime after Maliyah scored in the 25^th minute and Kylie Beu scored in the 30^th minute.  For Medley, it was her team-leading 21^st goal of the season while Beu tallied her 11^th. 

Saddleback piled on the icing in the second half against their inter-district rivals, scoring goals in the 62^nd, 69^th, 80^th and 85^th minutes.  Lacy Ruston scored her fourth goal of the season off a pass from Averee Campos for a 3-0 lead and the Bobcats were off and running.  Seven minutes later, Beu scored her second of the game and 12^th of the season off a pass from Zoe Chung.  Autumn Tan-Torres got into the act in the 80^th minute with her first goal of the season off a pass from Kaylee Zych.  Genesis Long then scored her first goal of the season in the 85^th minute after taking a pass from Nicolette Pirghibi.

"I'm really proud of them," head coach BJ McNicol said.  "To bounce back from a loss a couple of weeks back and continue to battle until the end is a testament to their character and determination."

Saddleback currently sits second in the southern half of the state in power points, a huge determining factor for playoff seeding.  The Bobcats have surrendered just four goals all season, which ties them for the state lead with rival Santiago Canyon.  Saddleback's 71 goals on the year ranks No. 6 in the state and broke the program record of 60 scored by the 2003 squad.

The Orange Empire Conference will meet on Monday to determine the All-Orange Empire Conference Team.  The Bobcats are expected to have significant representation on the team. 

The Southern California playoff seed meeting is scheduled for Tuesday at Fullerton College.