Strong second half propels Pirates past Hornets
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fullerton (3-10-1, 1-5-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
Orange Coast (10-3-2, 4-1-2) | 1 | 3 | 4 |
COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College women's soccer team used a strong finish to put away visiting Fullerton College, 4-0, on Tuesday in an Orange Empire Conference matchup inside the OCC Soccer Complex.
The Pirates (10-3-2, 4-1-2 in the OEC) led early on a goal by Grace Boyce in the 9th minute of play, but from there, the Hornets (3-10-1, 1-5-1) managed to stick around for the rest of the first half and, in fact, nearly tied things at 1-1 if not for a point-blank save by Samantha Ortega off of an OCC turnover deep in Pirate territory.
Finally, in the 74th minute, a free kick by Chantelle Sanchez was buried in the upper corner of the goal -- her 12th of the season -- giving the Pirates the necessary breathing room in a match controlled by the Pirates in every category but the scoreboard.
Two minutes later, a nice Sanchez pass found its way to OCC leading goal scorer, Olivia Hostetler, who made no mistake with her attempt, finding the back of the net for her 14th goal of the season and a 3-0 Pirate advantage.
Finally, Alexis Lastra took a long pass from Kennedy Heimer and buried her opportunity in the 79th minute to complete the scoring.
Ortega and Layla Cash each played a half in goal and each earned a pair of saves for Coast. Fullerton's Brooklyn Martinez had 10 saves in the loss for the Hornets.
The Pirates will return to action on Friday at Irvine Valley College, beginning at 3 p.m. OCC's next home match will take place on Tuesday against Santiago Canyon, also at 3 p.m.
