Ruiz With 2 Goals, Assist in Comeback Draw

In an intense back-and-forth contest, San Diego City came from behind twice in an exciting and chaotic 3-3 home draw with Orange Coast with Knights' forward Samuel Ruiz scoring two goals and assisting on Johnson Nguyen's equalizer in the closing minutes.

Orange Coast struck first in the 12th minute when Brady Powell converted a penalty, giving his side a 1-0 lead. Powell was a constant threat, nearly doubling the lead with a header in the 16th minute, but San Diego City's Diego Garcia made a big save. Despite several attempts, San Diego City couldn't find the back of the net, going into halftime down by a goal.

Orange Coast took a 2-0 lead six minutes into the second half when Powell scored his second goal of the game in the 51st minute.

It was looking as though San Diego City was headed for a loss, but the Knights kept fighting and finally broke through with a goal from Samuel Ruiz in the 81st minute, assisted by Elijah White. He then scored again two minutes later off an assist by Jamesley Exantus, to level the score at 2-2.

However, the drama was far from over. Just seconds after Ruiz's second equalizer, Orange Coast responded immediately with a goal from Lucas Fiche to reclaim the lead at 3-2.

San Diego City refused to give up. In the 87th minute, Johnson Nguyen scored the final equalizer, assisted by Samuel Ruiz, bringing the score to 3-3.

Ruiz and White each got shots on target in the final minute, but both were saved by OCC goalkeeper Cesar Pedroza-Acosta, and the match ended in a hard-fought draw.

After three consecutive home games, the Knights' next game will be on the road at Saddleback on Tuesday at 5 p.m.