Wood’s Hat Trick Propels Santa Ana to 4-2 Win Over Saddleback

Wood’s Hat Trick Propels Santa Ana to 4-2 Win Over Saddleback

SANTA ANA, Calif. – Sophomore forward Leyna Wood put away three goals for her second hat trick of the season as No. 8 Santa Ana women's soccer picked up their first Orange Empire Conference win, defeating Saddleback (3-3-2, 0-1-1) 4-2 on Friday.

It wasn't until the 66th minute when Wood scored her first goal off a pass from Fatima Pimentel to give the Dons (7-1-0, 1-1-0) a 1-0 lead. Her second came just four minutes later after Santa Ana was awarded a penalty kick for a Saddleback hand ball in the box.

The Dons seemed to be cruising to their first win in OEC play until the Gauchos came alive in the 74th minute when Chloe Deveze scored on a cross to make its a 2-1 game.

Santa Ana attempted to keep possession of the ball and run out the clock but the Gauchos had other plans. Saddleback kept the pressure on until Paige Vitolo found the back of the net in the last two minutes of regular time, tying the score at 2-2.

Right when it looked like the Dons would suffer another late meltdown, sophomore forward Ariana Figueroa came up big and took advantage of a counter to give her team a 3-2 lead in the 89th minute with her second goal of the season.

In extra time, Wood scored her third goal of the match as goalkeeper Stephanie Hernandez booted a goal kick to the other side of the field to put the finishing touches on the win.

NEXT UP: Santa Ana will get another opportunity to take on a top 20 team as they are set to face No. 15 Fullerton (7-0, 2-0) in another next Tuesday at 3:00 p.m.  Fullerton stayed undefeated with a 7-2 victory over Irvine Valley on Friday.