Back-to-back OEC Champs

The Saddleback women's soccer team secured a piece of the Orange Empire Conference (OEC) championship on Tuesday with a 2-0 win against Santa Ana College inside the stadium.   The Bobcats have now won the OEC title in back-to-back seasons and in three of the last four years.

Saddleback dominated from start to finish, suffocating the Santa Ana offense with a stellar defense while peppering the Santa Ana goal with shots.

Saddleback scored the opening goal of the game when Anjelina Nieto rattled a ball off the crossbar and Danyela Jara collected the rebound and planted it into the net.  It was Jara's first goal of the season and quickly put the Dons on the defensive.

Saddleback had numerous chances in the opening half but had to settle for a 1-0 lead after outshooting Santa Ana 11-0 in the opening 45 minutes.

Saddleback put the game away in the second half on a beautiful corner kick.  Emery Simis fed the ball into the box and Isabelle Whittaker headed it past the Santa Ana keeper in the 60^th minute to make the score 2-0.  It was Whittaker's fourth goal of the season.

The 2-0 advantage was more than enough for the win as the Bobcats outshot Santa Ana 15-1 for the game.  Saddleback emptied out the bench in the second half on sophomore night, playing over 20 players in the game.

Saddleback's victory was the ninth straight win and ran their unbeaten streak to 14 games.  It was also the 10^th shutout of the season for the Bobcat defense. 

Saddleback is now 14-2-3 overall and 11-0-2 in Orange Empire Conference play.  It is the fourth straight season where Saddleback has won at least 11 games in conference play.

Saddleback finishes the regular season at Fullerton College on Friday.  The Bobcats and Hornets are scheduled to start at 3:00 PM in Fullerton.