Gauchos battle to 2-2 tie

The Saddleback women's soccer team battled to a 2-2 tie with MiraCosta College in the home-opener on Tuesday at the OC Great Park.  The Gauchos outshot the Spartans badly but had to rally for the equalizer.

Saddleback looked like a team that was going to coast to a win on Tuesday, but instead found themselves scrambling at the end to pick up a tie.  The Gauchos outshot MiraCosta 16-2 over the first 45 minutes and took a 1-0 lead when Paige Vitolo stole a ball in the box and slid it past the Spartan keeper in the 22^nd minute for a lead.  MiraCosta finally answered on just their second shot of the half when Jasmin Velasquez took a free kick from 50 yards out and Silje Vigeland redirected the ball with her head over Lehar Chawla's outstretched arms to tie the game at 1-1.

Saddleback outshot MiraCosta 10-6 in the second 45 minutes but found themselves trailing after Vigeland placed another ball perfectly over the head of keeper Taylor Gayer off a free kick from the near sidelines.

Saddleback finally tied the game in the 72^nd minute following a foul against MiraCosta in the box on a play against Maliyah Medley.  Ashley Tiffin was called upon to take the penalty kick and slid it past keeper Mia Bochis to tie the game at 2-2.

Saddleback finished with a 12-4 advantage in shots-on-goal for the game.  The Gauchos also hit the crossbar once and the right post once.  Vitolo finished with a team-high four shots on goal, scoring her team-leading fifth goal of the season.

The Gauchos are now 2-1-1 on the season heading into matchup against Long Beach City College at the OC Great Park on Friday.  The Gauchos and Vikings are scheduled to start at 3:00 PM.