Pirates wrap up nonconference play with 2-0 win over Knights
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
San Diego City (0-6-0) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
Orange Coast (6-1-1) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College men's soccer team wrapped up a very solid nonconference run with a 2-0 win over visiting San Diego City College on Tuesday at the OCC Soccer Complex.
With the win, the Pirates complete their eight-match nonconference stretch with a 6-1-1 record and will prepare for their Orange Empire Conference opener on Tuesday at home against Fullerton College, beginning at 3 p.m.
After a back-and-forth 30 minutes of play to start things off, a San Diego City player was called for a hand-ball infraction inside the scoring area, resulting in a penalty kick. Danny Vargas stepped up and ripped a shot past Knights' goalkeeper Sebastian Guillen in the 33rd minute for a 1-0 lead.
Coast had two golden chances early in the second half to extend its advantage but two point-blank opportunities ran off of the crossbar, keeping the Knights within striking distance. SDCC (0-6) maintained possession for a good portion of the second half, but the Pirate defense, led by goalkeeper Pablo Ramirez (four saves) kept the dangerous opportunities to a minimum. Since starting in goal three games ago, Ramirez has been strong, notching 14 saves while allowing no goals against.
Finally, in the 83rd minute, a shot by Carlos Hernandez banked off of a SDCC defender and onto the foot of Tino Varona, who calmly banked a chip shot off of a reaching Guillen and into the back of the net, putting OCC up for good.
