Pirates salvage 2-2 tie with Dons

COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College men's soccer team used a late second-half goal to pull out a 2-2 tie with visiting Santa Ana College on Friday at the OCC Soccer Complex.

In a matchup between two of the team teams in the region, the 2-2 stalemate seemed fitting as both teams put forth a remarkable effort.

The Pirates (10-4-4, 6-3-3 in the Orange Empire Conference) scored the game's first goal in the 43rd minute when Brandon Bauman slipped a perfect pass between two defenders and onto the foot of Jorge Sanchez, who broke free and shot the ball past charging goalkeeper Chris Martinez into the lower-right corner of the goal.

Coast took a 1-0 lead into halftime, but two huge scoring chances left the hosts wanting more. In the seventh minute, Jake Little sent in a tough shot, but Martinez managed to swat the ball away with his hand and in the 35th minute, a breakaway opportunity by Chase Nugent was stopped point blank by Martinez.

Santa Ana's best chance in the first half came in the 40th minute on a corner kick, but OCC goalkeeeper Connor Nelson managed to punch the ball out of harms way.

The Dons (11-3-5, 8-2-2), defending OEC champs for 18 straight years, showed a tougher fight in the second half and tied the match in the 50th minute when Amos De La Paz took a pass from Oscar Solares and sliced a shot over Nelson's head and into the upper-left corner of the net.

The momentum shift stayed with the Dons and in the 59th minute, Solares took a feed from Damian Marquez and slipped a shot into the back of the net, putting Santa Ana up 2-1.

The Dons were the more aggressive team for most of the second half before the Pirates finally pushed back. After another Nugent breakaway was denied -- this time by backup netminder Jose Garcia -- a cross pass by Coast was deflected off of the foot of Jacob Rushing and onto the foot of Dong-Gi Shin. The sophomore forward controlled the ball and ripped a shot past Garcia in the 87th minute to even the match.

Nelson finished the match with five saves. Garcia and Martinez each had two saves in 45 minutes of work for the Dons.

Coast will return to action on Tuesday at Fullerton College, beginning at 3 p.m.