Alan ChangThe Dons winning streak was snapped at six after losing to the rival Santiago Canyon Hawks in their first Orange Empire Conference game, 2-1 at home, Tuesday.
Santa Ana and Santiago went back and forth in the first half with both teams attacking the net.
Sophomore forward Ariana Figueroa scored a goal assisted by Sophomore midfielder Lauren Wood 20 minutes into the first half, giving the Dons the lead 1-0. However, the Hawks responded with a goal by freshman forward Brianna Diaz six minutes later tying up the game, ending the first half.
The Dons offense continued attacking the net, however they made a lot of defensive lapses during the second half. Both teams had a lot of chances, but failed to capitalize on those opportunities. Santa Ana had a few goal-line saves to keep the game tied. The match came down to the last five minutes with the game tied. Ultimately, Hawks sophomore forward Tara Hansel scored the winning goal in the last two minutes of the second half giving them their first lead of the game.
With the two minutes and the extra time left, the Dons winning streak was in jeopardy being down 2-1. Santa Ana was able to get a few opportunities to score, ultimately the Hawks defense proved to be stronger giving SCC the win.
The Dons were visibly upset after losing their first game this season; they wanted to continue their winning streak into conference play and losing that really hurt the team emotionally
“To come in and to do what we did already in the non-conference games was great to see and we wanted to take that into this game. There were points where we played our game and there were sometimes where we got away from it,” said Coach Jaymie Baquero.
The Dons have a 6-1 and are going to host Saddleback College on Friday, Oct. 4 at 2 p.m.
