Gauchos turn the Paige against Hornets

The Saddleback women's soccer team picked up its most significant win of the season on Friday, winning at Fullerton College, 2-1.  Gaucho Paige Vitolo had a goal and an assist as Saddleback moved above .500 for the year.

Saddleback entered the game as one of the most snakebitten team in Southern California, tying games they could have won and dropping games they could have tied.  The Gauchos got things right on Friday with a 2-1 win against one of the top-ranked team in the region.

Saddleback took control in the opening minutes when Paige Vitolo (pictured) netter her team-leading seventh goal of the season off a pass from Mia Wood in the sixth minute.  Fullerton would tie the game in the 35^th minute on a free kick as the two teams went to the locker room tied at 1-1.

Saddleback took the lead in the 59^th minute when Vitolo fed a pass to Maliyah Medley, who buried it in the back of the net for a 2-1 lead.  It was the third goal of the season for Medley, who has now scored in each of the past two games.

Saddleback then dug in defensively and stifled the Fullerton attack the rest of the way.  Taylor Gayer was solid in goal all afternoon, recording four saves for the game as the defense gave up very few opportunities.

Saddleback is now 4-3-3 overall and 1-1-2 in Orange Empire Conference play.  The Gauchos will play again when they host Orange Coast College on Tuesday at the OC Great Park in Irvine.  Saddleback and OCC are scheduled to start at 3:00 PM.