The Saddleback women's soccer team battled to a 2-2 draw with Irvine Valley College on Friday in Irvine. The Gauchos remain in the middle of the pack in the Orange Empire Conference following the tie.
Saddleback entered the matchup riding a three-game losing streak and needed to generate some momentum before entering the second half of OEC play. The Gauchos settled for a 2-2 tie after the Lasers scored in the closing minutes to even the game.
Saddleback opened the game with two goals in the first half to take a 2-0 lead. Yasaman Zarea opened the scoring off a pass from Caitlin Dolan in the 34th minute to give the Gauchos a 1-0 lead. It was the first goal from Saddleback in nearly 270 minutes after the Gauchos were shut out in their previous two games. Saddleback wasted no time in getting a second as Dolan fed Chelsea Viera a minute later and the lead was 2-0.
Irvine Valley battled back to cut the lead to 2-1 in the 67th minute when Giselle Garcia scored off a pass from Cierra Savin. It was the beginning of a rally for the Lasers, who outshot the Gauchos 6-4 in the second half. IVC finally got the equalizer in the 87th minute when Garcia scored off a pass from Heaven Hernandez.
Saddleback is now 5-3-3 overall and 2-3-2 in Orange Empire Conference play following the tie. The Gauchos are in fifth place in the OEC and will try to get back in the win column on Tuesday when they travel to Orange Coast College to take on the Pirates. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 PM in Costa Mesa.