The Orange Empire Conference has moved to the second half of the conference schedule for 2016 and so far Santiago Canyon is in a familiar position. The Hawks lead in the standings, looking for their 13th straight OEC title.
Four other teams are still in the hunt but Santiago Canyon has been rolling. The Hawks are still undefeated on the season at 12-0-1 and 8-0-1 in OEC play. Santiago Canyon was tested a few times in the first half of conference play, but the defense was nearly impenetrable. Santiago Canyon recorded seven shutouts in eight games, with the only blemish of the first half being a 2-2 tie with Cypress.
Cypress has also been good and entered the second half of the conference schedule with a four point deficit in the standings. The Chargers are currently 8-1-4 overall and 5-0-3 in OEC play, with a trio of ties against Orange Coast, Saddleback and Santiago Canyon. Cypress' lone loss of the season came out of conference against Fresno City.
Orange Coast, Saddleback and Irvine Valley all remain in the hunt but need to do some quick work if they are going to run down Santiago Canyon. OCC is currently 9-3-2 overall and 6-2-1 on conference play and the Pirates entered the second half down six points in the standings. OCC opened the second half of the schedule with a dominating 7-0 win over Norco, and with Saddleback and Santiago Canyon on the schedule this week is in a position to make a move. The Pirates lost both battles 2-0 in the first half of the schedule and will need better results the second time around.
Saddleback was unbeaten during the season until 10 days ago when a flurry of injuries besieged their season. With the top two scorers on the team down, the Gauchos suffered a 1-0 loss to Santiago Canyon in the final minutes and then a 3-0 defeat to Irvine Valley last week. The Gauchos (8-2-3, 5-2-2) are down five points at the half way point, but need to collect themselves and find some new options if they are going to get back into the race.
Irvine Valley is one of the programs that have been hanging around and giving teams fits. The Lasers are 6-4-4 overall and 4-3-2 in OEC play, but have been a difficult challenge along the way. IVC tied Saddleback in the early part of the season and then beat the wounded Gauchos last week to keep themselves in the hunt. With games against Santiago Canyon and Cypress in the next week, the Lasers have a chance to change the landscape of the conference.
As the season winds down, Orange Coast's Sydnee Busby is starting to distance herself from the pack for the individual scoring title. Busby has 17 goals and three assists with seven games remaining. She has been red hot as of late, scoring four goals against Santa Ana on October 4 and three against Norco last week.
Irvine Valley's Alexandra Benedict is currently nine points back of Busby, scoring 12 goals with two assists. Benedict scored half of her goals out of conference but has been a model of consistency in conference play, scoring in six of nine games for the Lasers.
Another giving chase is Santiago Canyon's Cassie Soto, who enters the second half with 10 goals and five assists. Soto has scored in six straight games for the Hawks and has only been kept off the scoring sheet three times all season.