Gauchos get their hooks into Pirates

The Saddleback women's soccer team entered play on Friday against Orange Coast College tied with the Pirates for fourth place in the Orange Empire Conference.  The Gauchos made the Pirates walk the plank, beating OCC 2-0 to jump up in the standings.

Saddleback lost to OCC in the opening game of OEC 1-0 in Costa Mesa and on home turf wanted to return the favor.  The Gauchos did just that, scoring two first half goals in taking sole possession of fourth place and picking up three important points in the standings.

Danyelle Allen (pictured) and Kathryn Kazzi scored the lone goals of the game as Saddleback made a statement in the opening half.  Allen scored her 11^th goal of the season and 39^th of her career in the 2^ndminute to give Saddleback a 1-0 lead off a pass from Alyssa Conrad.  Kazzi added her third of the season in the 14^th minute from 30-yards in what initially looked like a centering pass for a commanding 2-0 lead.

Meanwhile, keeper Alexandria Scott picked up her second straight shutout and third in the past four games as Saddleback's defense was solid.  The Gauchos outshot the Pirates 13-10 for the game, with Scott stopping all six shots OCC could manage.

Saddleback (8-2-3, 4-2-3) moved into sole possession of fourth place, one point back of rival Irvine Valley College who was taking on Santiago Canyon on Friday.  OCC (6-6-1, 4-5-0) fell into sixth place with the loss.

Saddleback will play again next Friday when it travels to Norco College. The Gauchos defeated Norco 8-1 on September 23 in the opening round of OEC play.