Fullerton College sophomore players were honored and celebrated for their contributions before the match with a commemorable gift basket for their last regular season home game in front of family, friends, coaches, and teammates.
At the start of the whistle, the Hornets were fluent on their attack by moving the ball forward towards the goal almost with ease.
Out of the countless chances created by the Hornets aggressive attacking style, the closest opportunity they had at goal would come via Hornet forward Brianna Remedios’ shot late in the second half.
Remedios dashed through the heart of the Gaucho’s defense from a counterattack as she beat her initial defender past midfield. Once Remedios reached the box, another Gaucho defender to Remedios’ right could not slow down her momentum.
In a quick instance, Remedios was now one on one with the Gaucho goalkeeper. Remedios then proceeded to strike the ball past the goalkeeper with pace and hit the top of the crossbar. She was able to gather the rebound of her shot but was unsuccessful to get a second chance, leaving the Hornets inches away from a game-winning goal.
“When I took it down the line and crossed it in. We almost made it. Or when I had that breakaway and just hit the crossbar. That was really frustrating, but it’s ok,” said Hornet forward Brianna Remedios.
Even though the Hornets (12-3-3)(9-2-3) were not able to improve their record and continue the four-game winning streak, the draw against Saddleback did not affect their playoff standings in OEC.
When asked if the Hornet’s performance against the Gauchos would be an indicator for how they will perform in the playoffs.
According to Fullerton head coach Pam Lewin, “We were battling the whole time and just didn’t finish the chances we had. In the last ten minutes, we were definitely in front of the goal and knocking. So if we would have gone to the extra time that would be added during playoffs, we would have been the team that walked away with the win.”
In spite of the early attacks made by the Hornets at the beginning of the first half, the Gauchos did not waver and were able to finish out the half taking back the game tempo by controlling ball possession.
Nonetheless, the Hornets responded immediately and never looked back by coming out of halftime dominating ball possession once again just like earlier in the game.
As a result, in the last 10 minutes of the match, the Hornets were awarded a free kick near midfield. Hornet midfielder Regina Sanchez-Molina stepped up and delivered a perfect ball that started above the goalpost and dipped into the top right corner.
Still, the Gauchos goalie was able to make an incredible save and double fist the ball over the goalpost.
“The main key moments of the match were during the buildups, where the ball goes down the middle and we play out for the corners to cross in. Another moment was the free kick that we had, as the goalie made a really good save on my shot,” said Hornet midfielder Regina Sanchez-Molina.
The game would end with the Hornets pushing everyone forward in efforts to score a last minute goal that never came.
Fullerton head coach Pam Lewin, Hornet forward Brianna Remedios, and Hornet midfielder Regina Sanchez-Molina all wanted to give thanks on behalf of the Fullerton Hornets team directly to the fans for their attendance throughout the regular season and urged them to give continued support throughout their playoff run.
Fullerton College will conclude the regular season by going on the road for their final two Orange Empire matches starting with the reigning OEC Champions Santiago Canyon (17-0-0)(14-0-0) on Tuesday, Nov. 6 at 3 pm.
