ORANGE – Orange Lutheran's Missy Lazeano let the chip shot fly as El Modena goalkeeper Annelise Fischer charged out late in Tuesday's girls soccer match.

Lazeano watched from her back as her shot sailed wide left of the far post. A few moments later the final whistle blew and the Lancers and Vanguards settled for a 1-1 draw in a nonleague game at Orange Lutheran High.

“It went well,” said first-year Lancers coach Steve Mattoon, who was an assistant coach last season for Orange Lutheran. “It was a good first game. We want to try to establish our outside to inside game. We are working on a different combination of players.”

It was the opening game of the season for the Lancers (0-0-1), who received a first-half goal from Lazeano to take a 1-0 lead.

El Modena (1-0-1) began its season with a 5-0 victory over Katella before facing Orange Lutheran.

“We came out a little slow,” said Vanguards coach Tony Barber, whose team finished fourth in the Century League last year. “Their pace caught us off guard.

“It's hard to tell right now with us. We lost some key starters and we moved people around. It's about getting ready for league. During the preseason, we are looking to get our flow.”

Just after halftime, the Vanguards' Morgan Gage was given a deep pass from Janelle Hanna. Gage beat the Lancers sweeper on the play and her goal evened the score at 1.

Lazeano sent a cross in front of the net with time running down, but Fischer came out for the grab. A few runs later, Lazeano ran down a pass from Erin Cole and was free except for Fischer, who immediately came out. Fischer slid as Lazeano sent a right-footer off the mark.

“That was so frustrating,” Lazeano said. “It wasn't just that one opportunity. We had a couple, but that was really frustrating. It was the last couple minutes and I missed it by that much. I thought it was in then I saw it curve outside.”

The Lancers finished in second place in the Trinity League last season and know their league is tough again. Two Trinity teams, Mater Dei (No. 4) and Santa Margarita (No. 8), are ranked in the preseason top 10.

“I thought we played real good,” Lazeano said of the opener. “We have a lot of young players. We were working and moving the ball around.”

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