A big win for women’s soccer

Sophomore defender Breanna Taboada (Saddleback College Athletics)

Saddleback women’s soccer team beat Orange Coast College on their away game 2-0 on Sept. 16, with goals by Rachel Edelstein and Mackenzie Galaz. They solidified their win within the first half, while still competing into the second.

Edelstein, a defender, put in the goal with a header coming in from a corner kick. Following with just 14 minutes left of the game, forward Emilee Monnig crossed using her left foot to have midfielder Mackenzie Galaz finish the play with a kick to the left of the box.

The lady Gauchos have never won an away game ever against OCC. Previous to the game, the women’s soccer team had come off from two ties against Santa Monica and Irvine Valley. Overall the Gauchos have 19 goals between their seven games played this season so far.

 “Any time you can go on the road in our conference and get a win, it’s outstanding and it has been a hard place for us to get results,” said head coach BJ McNicol, whom took over the position in 2012. “This was huge for the girls, especially coming off a disappointing tie, where we were the better team, that didn’t get the result we wanted.”

For head coach McNicol, it wasn’t an easy win by any means, as he confessed it’s the worst lead you can have in a game.

“We didn’t want to be complacent and we weren’t, we came out and we probably should have got maybe one or two more in the second half,” McNicol said.

McNicol praised the defense, and midfield saying they worked harder this time around, especially against a team like OCC.

 “I think our team did pretty well, coming off a tie, we came out to this game knowing what we needed to do,” said defensive player Rachel Edelstein, whom scored the first goal. “I think we really performed even higher than I expected, and I was really happy with the results.”

Saddleback women averaged about 25 percent shot range, and had nine corner kicks total. With seven games played, the Gauchos goals-per game is about 3.29. In addition, no one received a yellow or red card in the game.

“We definitely kept our composure, and I think I did pretty well,” said midfielder Mackenzie Galaz, whom scored the second goal. “Today was a great win for us.”

With a win from the women’s soccer team, their hope for the rest of the season is to collect as many points possible and challenge for the conference.

“Being second last year with only two points of a difference, unlocking the title seems to be possible, especially with a team like this,” McNicol said.

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