Orange Coast College

Men's Soccer: Pirates hang tough, but fall to Santa Ana

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College men's soccer team gave conference kingpin Santa Ana all that it could handle, but in the end, it was the visiting Dons who pulled out a 2-1 Orange Empire Conference win on Wednesday at the OCC Soccer Complex.

Santa Ana (13-4-2, 8-1-1 in conference) withstood an aggressive OCC squad to start the game, then used its precise passing and skill to take a 1-0 first half lead. In the 43rd minute, Ramon Quintana flipped a nice pass to Juan Carlos Agripino who found the corner of the net.

OCC (7-4-4, 3-5-2) had its chances in the first half, but had to settle for a 1-0 deficit heading into halftime. A point-blank shot was stopped in the ninth minute and a header banked off the right goalpost in the 26th minute as the Pirates outshot the Dons 7-6.

In the second half, it was the Dons who had some extra spring in their step as they controlled things early. Finally, in the 54th minute, a nice touch-pass from Quintana to Sergio Arrias was slipped into the back of the net for a 2-0 SAC advantage.

From there OCC found a second wind and began to push forward. In the 88th minute, Brian Siemonsma sent a cross-shot into the box and after it was misplayed by a Santa Ana defender, Brandon Taylor ripped a shot past the Dons' goalkeeper and into the back of the net, giving the Pirates life.

In the extra time, a long shot was sent toward Dons' goalkeeper Julian Hernandez (six saves), but the ball slipped out of his hands and onto the OCC turf, where three Pirate players were waiting, but the ensuing shot sailed outside the left goalpost, preserving Santa Ana's victory.

The OCC goalie tandem of Dane Fernandez and Joey Balbas each allowed a goal and posted four saves in 45 minutes of work.

The Pirates conclude their three-games-in-three-days series with a road game at Irvine Valley, beginning at 3 p.m.