Sophomore forward Nora Garcia’s goal in with three and a half minutes to play in regulation earned the Irvine Valley women’s soccer team a 1-1 tie with Saddleback in an Orange Empire Conference match on Friday afternoon at IVC.

Garcia ran onto a long through pass by freshman defender Stacee Brayley, beat Saddleback keeper Kat Pegg to the ball near the top of the penalty box and knocked it into an empty net for her second goal of the season.

Irvine Valley thought it might pull out the victory with just a minute to play when it looked as if sophomore midfielder Julie Leguizamo scored, but Leguizamo was ruled offside on the play.

"I thought we played really well today and was happy with the result," IVC coach Simon Davies said. "Especially since we were down a goal and came back. The girls deserved to get something out of it."

The tie snapped a two-match losing streak for the Lasers and moved their record to 2-7-3 overall and 0-2-3 in conference. Saddleback’s record now stands at 2-5-4 overall and 1-4-1 in conference.

Saddleback was in seventh place and Irvine Valley was in eighth in the conference standings heading into Friday’s action.

Saddleback scored its goal in the 67th minute. A loose ball rolled out to Jericho Baichtal on the right side. She settled the ball, and then sent a well struck left-footed shot from about 25 yards out into the upper-left corner of the net.

Both teams had their chances throughout. Baichtal hit the crossbar with a shot in the first half. IVC had two free kicks and two corner kicks in the closing minutes that it couldn’t capitalize on.

Irvine Valley plays again next Tuesday, hosting Santiago Canyon at 3 p.m. The match is part of a doubleheader with the IVC men’s team. The Laser men take on Orange Coast in a 1 p.m. contest.