Gameiro's two goals push Pirates past Hornets
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fullerton (7-10-2, 5-4-2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
Orange Coast (6-4-7, 5-3-2) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
COSTA MESA -- Vitor Gameiro notched a pair of goals to lead the Orange Coast College men's soccer team to a 2-0 Orange Empire Conference win over visiting Fullerton College on Friday afternoon at the OCC Soccer Complex.
Goalkeeper Sina Shahnazari notched seven saves to pick up the shutout win for the Pirates (6-4-7, 5-3-2 in conference), who drew even with the Hornets (7-10-2, 5-4-2) for fourth place in the Orange Empire Conference, just five points behind first-place Golden West.
Gameiro got his first scoring opportunity when the Hornets were called for a hand-ball violation inside OCC's scoring area, giving the Pirates a penalty kick. From there the 6-foot-3 midfielder beat Hornets' goalkeeper Fabian Caldera in the 44th minute to put OCC up, 1-0.
Less than a minute later, Dominic Bair headed a shot on goal that looked to cross the goal line after banking off of the crossbar, but the referee said the ball stayed out of the goal and the Pirates had to settle for a 1-0 lead at the half.
Fullerton came out with more speed and had a couple of good scoring opportunities, but Shahnazari was up to the task and kept the Hornets out of his goal.
Finally, in the 81st minute, a Hornet penalty just outside the scoring area resulted in a direct free kick opportunity and Gameiro ripped a shot over the Fullerton defensive wall and banked his second goal off the crossbar and behind the goal line, putting Coast up, 2-0.
OCC will return to action on Tuesday at Santa Ana College, beginning at 3 p.m. before returning home to face Cypress on Friday, also at 3 p.m.
