SANTA ANA - Despite seeming to control the majority of the action, the Dons had to fight their way to a 3-1 victory over visiting Norco College in an Orange Empire Conference match. The win moves the Dons (10-3-4, 6-3-1) into a tie for second place after Santiago Canyon College lost its match to Golden West College.

Gary Carbajal put the Dons on top early when he scored on a pass from the left side that was delivered by Francisco Vasquez in the 10th minute. Uriel Rebollar sent the Dons into the half with a 2-0 lead when he scored in the 24th minute after connecting on a shot when Ivan Bastida slipped a through ball to the left side of the box.

But Norco (1-14-2, 0-10-0) wouldn't go down without a fight as the Mustangs came out strong in the second half. Their hard play was rewarded in the 71st minute Ramon Hernandez scored on a penalty kick that cut the Dons lead in half.

However, the Dons would close out the match in the 89th minute when Omar Perez beat the keeper to the ball near the end line and sent a pass to Guillermo Saldana who scored on the open net.

Dennis Hernandez made one save on the only shot he faced before being replaced by Jorge Muratalla in the 65th minute. Muratalla faced just the penalty kick which resulted in a goal. For Norco, Manny Hernandez made six saves while allowing three goals in 90 minutes.