Cats strike late against Pirates

The Saddleback women's soccer team defeated Orange Coast College, 2-1, on Tuesday night in Costa Mesa.  The Bobcats remain in the mix towards the top of Orange Empire Conference (OEC) standings.

Saddleback trailed 0-1 at the half after Litzy Morales blasted a shot from 35-yards out to give the Pirates a lead in the 36^th minute.  The Cats went to the locker room down a goal despite outshooting the Pirates 7-5 in the opening frame.

Saddleback came out with a sense of purpose in the second half, outplaying the Pirates throughout.  They finally broke through in the 77^th minute when Isabelle Whittaker rebounded a ball off a goalkeeper save and slid it into the left side of the net.  It was Whittaker's second goal of the season and evened the game at 1-1.

Saddleback got the game-winner in the 88^th minute when Emery Simis lofted a ball from 25 yards away into the upper right corner of the net off a pass from Jinan Said.  It was the second goal of the season for Simis and gave the Bobcats a lead they would never relinquish.

Saddleback outshot Orange Coast 9-2 in the second half and held a 16-7 advantage for the game.  The Bobcats started Cameron Simmons in goal and she gave way to Gloria Gomez in the second half. 

Saddleback is now 6-2-3 overall and 3-0-2 in Orange Empire Conference play.  The Bobcats are one-half game back of both Cypress and Santiago Canyon in the standings, and tied both squads during the first round of OEC play. 

Saddleback will take a six-game unbeaten streak into Santa Ana on Friday when they take on the Dons.  Saddleback and Santa Ana are scheduled to start at 3:00 PM at Santa Ana.