Chargers Upset in Loss to Santa Ana
Gutierrez scored a goal Friday. |
October 20th, 2006
Cypress, Calif. – The Chargers looked like they were on a roll with three straight shutout wins in a row before they ran into Santa Ana who upset the Chargers at home handing them their first loss of the season 1-2. The Chargers, who came into the game ranked sixth in the country, had already beaten the Dons 4-0 earlier in the season but could not repeat the result Friday losing ground in the chase for the conference championship. Freshman midfielder Karina Gutierrez scored Cypress’s lone goal, her first collegiate goal.
The game began with business as usual as Gutierrez scored in the second minute with an assist from freshman defender Kristen Mosier. Later in the first half, in a flurry of confusion in front of the Cypress goal, a foul was called in the box giving Santa Ana a penalty kick which they converted to tie the game. Early in the second half, with the Chargers scurrying to score, Santa Ana was able to break through the defense and bypass the goalie for an open goal to take the lead. From there the Dons held their ground defensively to pull out the huge upset. Freshman goalie Kassandra Imbrogno made three saves on the day.
Cypress will regroup and try to go undefeated the rest of the way. The Chargers face a tough opponent again against Orange Coast Tuesday away. OCC is fourth in conference with a 7-3-1 conference record coming off of a 3-0 win over Fullerton. The last time these teams met, Cypress won 5-0 after a physical showing by the Pirates. The teams face off Tuesday at Orange Coast at 3:00 pm.
