The Santiago Canyon College women's soccer team won its 15th straight Orange Empire Conference title this past week and should be considered one of the favorites to win the state title in four weeks. The Hawks have been dominant throughout, registering 13 shutouts.
Santiago Canyon is 17-0 this season and has outscored opponents 73-6 in the process. In addition, the Hawks have outscored OEC opponents 61-6.
Santiago Canyon was ranked No. 3 in the state by the California Community College Sports Information Directors on October 23 and is currently No. 1 in the state in power points. The Hawks finish the regular season with a home game against Fullerton (12-3-3, 9-2-3) and a road game at Irvine Valley (3-8-7, 1-7-6).
Santiago Canyon is likely to dominate the all-conference ballot when the team is announced next weekend. The Hawks are led by the potent dup of Ofelia Sosa (19 goals, 12 assists) and Angelica Ortega (16 goals, 12 assists), who are both solid candidates for the Orange Empire Conference MVP. The goalkeeper combination of Gillian Kliss and Jessica Neighbors have combined for 13 shutouts while the defense in front of them has been nearly impenetrable.
The Southern California Regional Playoffs start a week from Thursday with play-in games and Santiago Canyon is likely to be one of the top seeds in the field. Other programs from the Orange Empire Conference likely to compete in the Southern California Regional Playoffs include Fullerton, Golden West and Cypress. Both Saddleback and Orange Coast would likely need some help from the playoff committee to get into the tournament.
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