Orange Coast College

Women's Soccer: Pirates hold off Fullerton for 2-1 win

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

COSTA MESA -- Under the bright lights of LeBard Stadium, the Orange Coast College women's soccer team enjoyed the nocturnal elements and posted a 2-1 Orange Empire Conference win over visiting Fullerton College on Tuesday night.

The win is the third straight for the Pirates (8-2, 4-2 in OEC). The loss drops the Hornets to 5-4-2, 3-2-2.

Coast got things going in the 25th minute when midfielder Chelsea Hilliard sent a long-high pass to teammate Taryn Bales and the freshman forward stayed onside, beat her defender and slipped a shot past the Hornets' goalkeeper for a 1-0 lead.

Just 14 minutes later, OCC made it 2-0 when Bales took the ball in deep and flicked a pass to Kallie Ryker, who found the back of the net.

Controlling the majority of the match, the Pirates nearly posted three other goals if not for the strong play of Briana Magana, who stopped a pair of point-blank shots and finished with seven saves.

In the second half, the Hornets turned up the heat and had some scoring opportunities of their own. In the 67th minute, Megan Byrum got behind the Pirates' defense and beat goalkeeper Alyssa Simon (seven saves) to cut Coast's lead to 2-1.

With less than five minutes left in the game, another Fullerton grazed both the soccer crossbar and the football crossbar, but stayed out of the goal, enabling Coast to hang on for the victory.

OCC returns to action on Friday at Golden West College, beginning at 6 p.m. The Pirates' next home match will be on Friday, Oct. 16 against Riverside at 1 p.m. at the OCC Soccer Complex.