Irvine Valley's men's soccer team stayed in firm control of second place in the Orange Empire Conference and remained in the top eight of the California Community College Athletic Association Playoffs power points for Southern California with a late goal to tie at Saddleback, 1-1, on the road Tuesday afternoon.
The draw moved Irvine Valley's record to 11-3-6 overall and 6-1-6 in the OEC.
Saddleback (8-5-5, 5-4-4) took a 1-0 lead in the 31st minute when Andrew Jun scored on a penalty kick after Joel Smith was taken down in the box.
But IVC dominated play and possession throughout the contest and scored to tie the match in the 84th minute off of a goal by sophomore forward Grant Miller off an assist from sophomore forward Ivan Lopez to make it 1-1.
It was Miller's 15th goal of the season. He now ranks second in the OEC and third in points with 33.
For Lopez, who was the OEC co-MVP in 2021, he notched his conference-leading 16th assist and is second in the conference with 36 points.
IVC freshman goalie Josh Simonton didn't have to make a save in the contest.
The Lasers close out the regular season on Thursday at Cypress in a conference match at 3 p.m.
Cypress handed Fullerton, the top squad in the conference and one of the top-three ranked teams all season in the state, its first loss in OEC play on Tuesday.
Playoff pairings will be announced this weekend.
