SANTA ANA COLLEGE RECAP: Women’s soccer team captures first victory

Samantha Morales advances the ball for the Santa Ana College soccer team. (Photo courtesy Santa Ana College sports information)

Sophomore midfielder Amy Encisco scored the first goal of her Santa Ana College career to help the Dons (1-1) even their record and pick up a 1-0 win over Pasadena City College Friday afternoon. 

Santa Ana seemed to be in control for the first 45 minutes as it held onto the ball and pressured the Lancer defence. That pressure paid off in the 20th minute when Enciso put a ball in the net after rebounding a shot from Samantha Morales

The Dons managed to hold off the Lancers for the rest of the match as several players made big plays on the defensive side of the field. 

Goalkeeper Jasmine Garcia played all 90 minutes and earned a shutout with five saves. 

Santa Ana will have a break in action until they travel to play Mt. San Jacinto (1-2) on Tuesday, Sept. 14 at 4 p.m.

MEN’S SOCCER TEAM WINS

The men’s soccer team used two first half goals to defeat the LA Mission Eagles 2-1 in Tuesday’s home opener.

In the 14th minute of action, the Dons (2-1-1) got themselves on the board as Antonio Wall hit his mark with a header on a corner kick from Marcello Aguirre. 

SAC continued to be sharp in the first half but ultimately had luck on their side as their second goal was created by an LA Mission miscue. At the 30 minute mark,  Joshua Lezama recovered a botched ball that was meant to be cleared by the Eagle goalkeeper, giving him a chance to score what will probably be his easiest goal of the season. 

LA Mission came out with more energy, resulting in a quick goal just six minutes in the half to cut the lead to one. 

With the tie within their grasp, the Eagles pushed for more and had a few opportunities to even things up throughout the half. But the Dons defense held up and allowed SAC to improve to 2-1-1 on the year. 

The Dons will host Palomar (1-1) Friday at 4 p.m.

CROSS COUNTRY OPENS

The Santa Ana College men’s cross country team opened the 2021 season with the Mark Covert Classic at Carbon Canyon Park on Saturday morning. It was the first competition the Dons had seen since November 2019. 

SAC showcased a new team with all freshmen competing in an 8K race and their first collegiate event. Bryce Tanikawa was the first Don to come across the finish line, finishing with a time of 29:17.9.

Not far behind him was Aldo Trujillo at 30:00.1 followed by Miguel Zarco who clocked in at 32:50.6. 

Rounding out the group was Angel Sicilia who finished at 33:09.0 and Diego Espinoza at 33:54.2. 

The Dons will race again on Friday, September 10th in the Biola Invitational at Craig Regional Park in Fullerton. 

Source: Santa Ana College sports information