Pirates hand Chargers their first loss of the season

COSTA MESA -- In a game where the scoreboard did not show the complete picture, the Orange Coast College women's soccer team controlled play from start to finish and beat visiting Cypress 1-0 on Friday at the OCC Soccer Complex.

Despite the one-goal difference, it was a match completely in favor of the Pirates (11-2, 7-2 in the Orange Empire Conference) -- winners of seven straight matches. OCC outshot the state's third-ranked team 12-0 in the first half and had several grade-A scoring opportunities early on.

In the second half, it was more of the same as the Pirate defense completely shut down the Chargers (10-1-2, 7-1-1), holding them to just three shots -- all from long range.

Coast came out and applied pressure right from the opening whistle. In the second minute a turnover by the Chargers enabled Sarah MacArthur a break down the left side, where she fed a pass to teammate Emma Pridmore and the sophomore found the back of the net with her shot, putting Coast up for good.

"Ever since our back-to-back losses to Cypress and Santiago in the first round of conference play, the No. 1 thing I wanted our girls to realize is how much better we're playing now, compared to then" OCC head coach Kevin Smith said after the win. "We were very attack-minded and we were the aggressor on the field. Anytime you can make the other team feel uncomfortable, you have a strong chance to win.

"We were first to the ball on defense and we really played a great all-around game today. We gave up no good scoring chances the entire game, which is great against a team like Cypress."

Strong play on both sides of the ball was turned in by several players, including Courtney Garrity, Cindy Rubio, Caitlin Padian, Jessica Amaral and Siobhan O'Toole, among others.

"Caitlin was very strong on defense for us," Smith said of Padian. "Anytime the ball reaches our defense, Caitlin uses her speed to get to everything. Siobhan was great in the air for us and Courtney really got us going with strong play to the ball in the first half. It was a total team effort out there today"

In goal, Kate O'Banion -- back from her leg injury -- came up with two saves and preserved the shutout. Cypress goalkeeper Michelle Mendez notched eight saves.

Coast returns to action with another huge matchup on Tuesday -- at top-ranked Santiago Canyon (11-0-1, 8-0-1) -- beginning at 3 p.m.