The Cypress women's soccer team won the Orange Empire Conference regular season championship with a 3-1 win against Golden West College on Friday afternoon. It was the first outright OEC championship for a team other than Santiago Canyon College in 16 years. Cypress was the last program to share the OEC title back in 2008, when they tied Santiago Canyon with a 13-1-2 record in OEC play.
Santiago Canyon entered the season winning or sharing 15 straight Orange Empire Conference championships, but that streak finally came to an end on Friday when Cypress clinched the title with the win over Golden West. The Chargers are now 16-0-2 for the year and 10-0-2 in Orange Empire Conference play.
Cypress' two ties on the season came against Saddleback College and Fullerton College, and the Chargers are currently No. 1 in the state in power points heading into the final week of the season. Santiago Canyon and Saddleback remain in a hot battle for second place in the OEC standings, with Santiago Canyon holding a one point lead in the standings. The two teams will meet in the final game of the season next Friday at Santiago Canyon. Saddleback defeated SCC 4-3 in the opening round of conference play.
Cypress features four players with 8-or-more goals on the season, led by Audree Campos. The sophomore forward has 14 goals on the season, which ranks 20th in the state. Hunter Richmond and Morgan Patea have nine goals apiece for the season while Nicolle Valdez has eight.
Cypress has been dominant at both ends of the field, outscoring opponents 50-10 for the season. The Chargers have recorded nine shutouts and are currently riding a six-game winning streak.
Cypress finishes the regular season with road games at Fullerton and Irvine Valley next week.
(Compliments of Brad Hoiseth, Saddleback SID)