SANTA ANA COLLEGE el Don / eldonnews . org • MONDAY , November 27 , 2017 SPORTS 15

BY JORDY ESPINOZA / el Don

The Santa Ana College Dons are headed to the playoffs for the second straight year- the 38th time in the team ’ s 41-year history .

The Dons ended its regular season in third place with a record of 7-2-5 in the Orange Empire Conference . Santa Ana secured the final playoff spot , edging out Orange Coast College by two games .

“ It doesn ’ t matter who we are going to play in the playoffs , we know that we are prepared for any team that ’ s coming ,” sophomore defender Joseph Vasquez said .

The Dons finished the season with an overall record of 10-4-6 . The Irvine Valley College Lasers and The Golden West College Rustlers both placed in front of the Dons , with the Lasers finishing in second at 9-2-3 while the Rustlers won the conference title with a record of 11-2-1 .

Santa Ana combined for a total of 44 goals made this season which placed them in a two-way tie with Golden West and 11 goals behind goals leader Orange Coast College Pirates , which totaled 55 goals this season .

Freshman defender Joshua Castellon led the team in scoring with nine goals and ranked in the top-five scoring leaders in the OEC .

“ I couldn ’ t have done it without the team and as a first-year freshman it was a good opportunity to score goals and lead my team ,” Castellon said . “ For me being a defender it ’ s harder to score so I took every opportunity I had like it was my last .”

Offensively , the Dons ranked fifth in shooting percentage , at 21 percent , making 44 of 209 attempts .

Play-making was the cornerstone this season for the Dons as they tallied a total of 30 assists , ranking them third in the OEC in that category .

Four different players for the Dons totaled six assists this season : freshman midfielder Christopher Lopez ;

See SO CALS Page 16

SNATCHED / Dons freshman midfielder Christopher Lopez secures a steal against Rustlers forward Julio Galicia . / Jordy Espinoza / el Don