Orange Coast College

Pirate women kick off soccer season on right foot

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

SAN MARCOS - It didn't take long for first-year head coach Kevin Smith to get that first "W" out of the way.
With two late second-half goals, the Orange Coast College women's soccer team got the season off the right way, posting a 2-0 road win over Palomar on Tuesday afternoon.
"We were able to control the game early on and we finished the game strong," Smith said. "Early on, it didn't look like we were too comfy in the offensive third of the field, but we showed some patience and managed to get some good opportunities."
In the 75th minute, OCC broke the scoreless deadlock when Stacey Schoop ripped a shot outside the 18-yard box past the Comet goalkeeper for a 1-0 Pirates lead. Assisting on the play was Loren Kortizija.
Just 10 minutes later, OCC made it 2-0 when A.J. Sellers took a pass from Kelly Fresenius and ripped a shot in the back of the net to ice the game.
OCC allowed just two Comet shots on goal and both were saved by Katie Johnson.
"With our style of play, we were able to wear the other team down a bit late in the game," Smith said.
Strong defensive play was turned in by sophomores Ashley Boyer and Nicole Huff.
The Pirates will next head to Ventura to compete in the Ventura Tournament, beginning on Thursday.