SANTA ANA, Calif. – After a 15 day break, the No. 12 ranked Santa Ana men's soccer team got back to work as they hosted LA Mission College (0-5-2) on Wednesday in a non-conference match. The Dons knocked off the rust with a 3-1 win to improve their record to 5-1.
Freshman forward Gilberto Garcia put the Dons on the board early with a shot that slipped through the right side of the goal in the 13th minute. Garcia now has five goals in just six matches, which leads the team.
Santa Ana continued to play aggressively and doubled their lead when Abel Bautista scored his second goal of the season on an assist from Anthony Aguilar in the 27th minute.
The Dons were in control for much of the match until the Eagles cut the lead to one as Brian Garmendia put away a laser from just inside the box at the 71 minute mark.
LA Mission used that momentum to rattle off a couple more shots and corner kicks but the Dons recovered with a counter that ended with Aguilar scoring his second goal of the season to seal the victory.
Santa Ana will host again on Friday as they welcome the Taft College Cougars in another non-conference match. The Cougars are 2-4-1 after falling to No. 1 Cerritos 4-2 on Tuesday. This will be the second matchup of the season for these two teams, with SAC leading the series after defeating the Cougars 2-0 on September 10th.
