SAC
SPORTS
CROSS COUNTRY RECAP
DONS MAKE RUN
AT STATE TITLE
Led by Dalton and Servando
Aviles, Santa Ana Men’s Cross
Country team placed ninth in
the CCCAA State Championship
Saturday, Nov. 17 in Fresno ending
a successful season.
“I’m so proud of the Aviles
brothers,” said Coach Miriam
Mitzel. “They did an amazing job
leading the team today and had a
great finish to the season.”
The women’s team snapped a
four-year streak by qualifying for a
state championships when Maria
Marroquin placed 27th earning
the Dons a top twenty finish in
California.
This season the Dons also
participated in the Orange
Empire Conference and SoCal
Championships. The men’s placed
second in the OEC while the
women weren’t far behind placing
fourth.
In the SoCal meet, Santa Ana
men finished in sixth-place while
the women qualified for state in
fourteenth.
The Dons look in good shape to
return to state championship with
eight returning runners.
/ Nathan Jacobo
12
Heading Out
SOCCER: Freshman Defender Agustin Barajas (left) goes in for a header in Dons 3-1 victory over LA Mission
STORY & PHOTO
DIEGO DEVIA
Dons lose to Santa Monica 2-1 in the second round of the playoffs
With less than a minute to go and a man down,
Santa Ana still had a chance to tie the game
against Santa Monica with a free kick.
As the hometown fans rose to their feet in
unison, freshman midfielder Cristian Alvarez
stood across the ball ready to take the Dons into
overtime.
From the bench Head Coach Jose Vasquez
instructs Alvarez to shoot directly at goal, “directo
al arco,” Vasquez shouts. The referee blows the
whistle and the crowd goes silent as Alvarez’s
strike was blocked and cleared by the defensive
wall of Corsairs ending the Dons season.
Injuries and missed opportunities were key to
SAC losing against Santa Monica College 2-1 in the
second round of the playoffs Tuesday, Nov. 20.
Because of injuries the Dons started off playing
defensively and looking to hit the Corsairs on the
counter with striker Kevin Ruiz and SAC’s top goal
scorer Jesus Nuñez out of the line-up.
At the half the score was tied at zero but it was
only a matter of time until the Corsairs would break
the deadlock as they dominated the Dons in time
el Don Santa Ana College · December 2018
of possession and shots on goal.
About 10 minutes into the second half, Santa
Monica got their first goal which lit a fire under
Santa Ana and they started to push forward
looking to equalize.
As the Dons gained momentum offensively,
multiple missed opportunities proved to be costly
when the Corsairs scored their second goal of the
game.
With only a few minutes left in the second half
it appeared to be over for Santa Ana until Miguel
Gomez, the star for the Dons in their first playoff
game scored a goal in the 89th minute cutting the
lead in half.
Feeling the pressure of time winding down,
freshman Frankie Camacho picked up his second
yellow card of the game leaving the Dons a man
down in stoppage time.
Santa Ana had one last chance to keep their
playoff run alive as they earned a free kick outside
the box in the last minute of stoppage time, but
the ball ricocheted off the Corsairs’ defensive wall
and it was over.