Hawks Come Alive in Second Half to Defeat Irvine Valley

A gridlocked first half set the stage for an exciting match as the No. 9 Santiago Canyon College women's soccer team played host to the Irvine Valley College Lasers in an Orange Empire Conference (OEC) face off. The Hawks, who were riding a six-game winning streak entering the contest, netted two second-half goals to push their winning streak to seven games and remain atop the standings.

The Lasers proved to be pesky in the opening 45 minutes of play as the Hawks struggled to find any offensive rhythm. They fired off eight shots in the first half, but failed to find the back of the net. On the other side of the pitch, a defensive unit that consisted of sophomore Aubrey Bryant, freshman Madison Stottlemyer and freshman Jordyn Lamastra did not allow a single shot from the Lasers.

It was a tale of two halves as the second half read all Blue and Yellow. Just two minutes into the second half, Lamastra drove the near field and hammered home a score just below the crossbar for the first score of the game. In the 69^th minute, sophomore midfielder Jordan Salinas corralled a pass from freshman forward Rayleen Chairez in the box for a score, thus leading to a 2-0 win.

The Hawks uncorked 27 shots on the night while the Lasers did not even have an attempt at goal. Of the 27 shots fired, 19 were in the second half and 10 of the total shots were on goal.

Salinas led the team with six tries, three of them coming via header. Freshman forward Alyssa Marino tried her foot five times. Freshman forward Sheila Sanchez matched Marino's total with five shots, while freshman forward Ayleen Jimenez recorded three shots.

Sophomore duo Brittany Hazelton and Krystal Maxey split time between the pipes with neither keeper having an opportunity to record a save. Maxey (4-1-1) earned the win after playing the latter half of the contest.