Rivals IVC and Saddleback share a tie
The IVC women’s soccer team played a tough game against Saddleback on Friday securing a tie within the last ten minutes of the game.
IVC picked up speed within the last half of the game in that they became more competitive and had possession of the ball the majority of the time. Nonetheless, it was with some accidental help from a Saddleback defender that the Lasers earned a goal.
The first half displayed excellent defending from both teams. The Saddleback Gauchos took four unsuccessful shots on IVC Laser’s goalie Amanda Rashtian. The Lasers were only able to make one shot on goal which was deflected by the Gaucho’s keeper.
The second half began with no successful goals from either team.
With almost 19 minutes left in the second half, Saddleback sophomore student Kacey Curran swiftly maneuvered around Lasers defense. Curran made a forceful shot on goal — the ball grazed the goalie’s fingertips and landed in the net for the first point of the game.
The Lasers didn’t lose courage from Saddleback’s lead though, as IVC Freshmen Julian Hyodo stated: “In the last ten minutes we wanted [to win] extra badly, because we were losing, so like it kinda put a fire in us.”
In the final minutes of the game, with Saddleback in the lead, Hyodo saw an opening for a shot, so she went for it. The ball hit the head of a Gaucho defender trying to deflect it and unintentionally flew past the Gaucho goalie and into the net, which ultimately lead the teams to tie.
Rashtian wanted the Lasers to win overall but was glad with the skills her team displayed.
“I think we connected as a team very well,” Rashtian stated. “We communicated with each other, and we stayed strong throughout the whole game.”
Head Coach of the Laser women’s soccer team Joe Supe, was also impressed with the performance of his team.
“I thought we dominated the game for the most part, and I saw a lot of good possible movements from the team,” Supe stated.
The ferocity of the Lasers in the latter part of the second half didn’t go unnoticed by Supe either: “They wanted to win, and they showed it within the last ten minutes. They were there and they were pressing.”
The Laser’s overall record is 2-5-2, while the Gaucho’s is 2-3-2.
Next Tuesday, the Lasers defend their turf at 3:00 pm against a team ranked third in the state: Santiago Canyon.