Although the San Diego Mesa College women’s soccer team fell short in their season opener, losing 0-3 to Long Beach City College, the team is once again starting to gel after rebounding with a 1-1 tie against Saddleback College. 

Saddleback College, a powerhouse in women’s soccer,  captured the Orange Empire Athletic Conference crown in 2021. The Bobcats then advanced to the third-round of the CCCAA Regional Playoffs, eventually falling to state runner-up Cypress College 0-1. 

The Olympians had their chances early in the game. Paradyse Wong (El Camino HS) was able to beat her defender, taking the first shot on goal in the first minute of play, just missed hitting the crossbar. Starting the game smart and aggresively is an element that head coach Melissa Warner has talked about in the past. Although the team is currently 0-1-1, there is no panic. Coincidently, the squad also dropped their season opener against Long Beach City College 0-5 last season. 

The stalemate continued until 47:12 in the second half when Chloe Green found paydirt scoring the first goal of the match giving the Bobcats a 1-0 lead. 

Goalkeeper Isabella Hughes (Mission Hills HS) had a tremendous game for the Olympians taking on 21 shots with 8 shots on goal and 7 saves. Her defense alone kept the team within striking distance. 

With the game slipping away in regulation time, Audrey Reed (Live Oak HS) scored in the 86th minute with the assist from Julia Dore (Palm Desert HS) bringing the score to a 1-1 tie. 

There are five remaining games scheduled in September, four of those games are against conference foes. Finishing undefeated will be overall goal in order to take a stronghold of the PCAC. On Monday, the team will travel to Mt. San Antonio College, they will then host two conference opponents welcoming Imperial Valley College on Tuesday (2:00PM) and San Diego City College on Friday (4:00PM).