Zito's miracle goal in final seconds of OT spark Pirates' PK win over L.A. Pierce!

COSTA MESA -- It was a match dominated by the Orange Coast College women's soccer team in every category but one -- the scoreboard. Trailing 1-0 in the final seconds of overtime, Shelle Zito helped give the Pirates a little more time in their season and they made the most of it.

The freshman forward scored on what was self-described as a "lucky shot", taking a deflection off her chest, collecting it to her feet and, in one motion before the ball hit the ground, ripped a topspin shot into the upper-portion of the net in the 119th minute of play, forcing penalty kicks to decide Tuesday's Southern California Regionals' second-round match against L.A. Pierce.

In the PKs, OCC (14-3-4) outscored the Brahmas 5-3 to advance to Saturday's third-round matchup with an old, familiar foe -- the Santiago Canyon Hawks -- who beat Chaffey 1-0 on Tuesday to advance.

"There was a deflection off of one of their defenders and the ball came right to me," Zito said. "I was able to control it, have it go to my foot and I just turned and hit it. The coaches keep telling me I'm not selfish enough and I should take more shots. I'm glad this one worked out."

Outshooting the Brahmas, 23-8 in the match, it took one breakout by the Brahmas (15-4-4) to put the Pirates on the edge of elimination. After a scoreless 90 minutes of play, LAPC counter-attacked and found itself with a 2-on-1 advantage. Michelle Somers, Pierce's leading scorer, broke down the right side and fed a perfect pass to teammate Diana Argueta, who found the back of the net in the 98th minute, putting the 14th-seeded Brahmas ahead, 1-0. It was Pierce's lone shot of the entire overtime session.

"That type of thing can happen when one school get so many opportunities and so many players are inside their scoring area," OCC head coach Kevin Smith said. "They got the counter-attack they wanted and they buried it.

"But our team doesn't quit."

Proving that fact, the Pirates continued to apply pressure on the Brahmas' defense, but the ball stayed out of the net and the minutes begin to evaporate.

Finally, three minutes into stoppage time, Zito allowed the entire OCC squad, coaching staff and fans in the stands the ability to exhale and prepare for penalty kicks.

"What a goal," Smith said of Zito's tally. "I think it gave us some justice out there because we were the better team for most of that match today. I think their goalkeeper might have even gotten a touch on the shot, but just couldn't keep it out."

That aforementioned goalkeeper for the Brahmas, Jenna Koziol, notched nine saves, including several "Grade-A" stops that kept the Pirates off the scoreboard for nearly the entire match. OCC's netminder Emily Harrier had less work, but still posted three solid saves.

In the penalty kicks, Koziol had the read on all five of OCC's attempts, but the Pirates still managed to beat her with perfectly-placed shots.

"Their keeper picked right every time," Smith said. "To be able to beat a goalkeeper who guesses right, you have to hit perfect shots and we managed to do that five straight times. Talk about pressure stuff -- you walk 50 yards to the shooting spot, everyone is looking at you -- but the girls all came through."

The turning point came in the fourth round of PKs. With OCC ahead 4-3, Pierce's Stefany Soto ripped a shot up high that rang up off of the crossbar and out of play, setting up a chance for Coast to survive.

Anmarie Moreno, the Orange Empire Conference's most valuable player, stepped up and also ripped the crossbar, but her shot went down behind Koziol. The officials said the ball went beyond the goal-line and despite Koziol's attempt to knock it forward, the goal counted and the Pirates stormed the field to congratulate Moreno.

"This team is on a high right now," Smith said. "The girls are playing real well. The last two matches have been unreal. While there is talent on this team, this team is winning with desire, with intensity and with a will to win. If I tell them to run through a brick wall, they will and for a coach, that's pretty awesome."

Coast is 0-2 against the Hawks in 2013, losing at OCC, 2-0, on Sept. 20 and SCC, 3-1 on Oct. 21