Pirates open conference play with 2-1 upset win over Lasers
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Irvine Valley (6-4-1, 1-1-0) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
|
Orange Coast (3-6-0, 1-0-0) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College men's soccer team took full advantage of their limited scoring chances and pulled off a 2-1 upset win over visiting Irvine Valley on Friday at the OCC Soccer Complex.
Despite an overwhelming stat line in favor of the Lasers (6-4-1, 1-1-0 in Orange Empire Conference), the Pirates (3-6-0, 1-0-0 in OEC) needed just two well-executed set pieces to find the back of the net more times than their opposition.
In the 38th minute, Will Hooper bombed a long free kick into the scoring area, where Carlos Alcantara one-hopped the ball with his foot and redirected the ball into the goal, putting the Pirates up, 1-0.
IVC kept applying waves of pressure on the Pirate defense, but the back line of Hooper, Jared Velazquez, Alfonso Morales, Uliseess Gonzalez and goalkeeper Collin Macha did a great job of preserving the 1-0 advantage into halftime.
It stayed that way until the 71st minute when Steven Garcia sent in a corner kick and it found the head of Velazquez, who didn't make a mistake and buried it into the net, putting the Pirates up 2-0.
Coast was outshot 18-4 and fought off 11 corner-kick opportunities by the Lasers to stay in front.
IVC made it interesting in the 80th minute when Grant Miller banked in a pass from Julian Svoboda past Macha and into the net to make it 2-1. The Lasers continued to apply the pressure, but Macha was up to the task with 11 big saves, including several from point-blank range.
The Pirates will return to action on Friday at home against Santiago Canyon, beginning at 3 p.m.
