By
Tony Lee
On
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Prior to the 4-0 loss to Riverside Community College in its season finale Friday (Nov. 13), Orange Coast College's men’s soccer team was ranked 16th in the region.However, the loss bounced Coast (8-10-3, 5-6-3) out of playoff contention and the Pirates finished the season 19th in the southern region with a 1.7286 power ranking.“We thought we would be much better than we did,” head men’s soccer coach Laird Hayes said. “We were wrecked by injuries. We just got disseminated.”On top of injuries, Hayes said he lost some players due to academic ineligibility and a lack of sophomore leadership also hurt the team down the stretch.“I’m not blaming the kids. That’s our responsibility as coaches,” Hayes said of coaching leadership, “to try to teach that, get them to buy into it. (The coaching staff) learned a lot, we got a lot to do, make amends and improve for the next year.”The Pirates were led by Jordan Gorman (six goals, nine assists) and William Munoz's (pictured) nine goals and two assists this season.[Photo by Hank Schellingerhout]
By
Tony Lee
On
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
The top 16 teams in the northern and southern region make the postseason for men's and women's soccer.At the moment, according to ccsoccernews.com, both Orange Coast College's men's and women's soccer teams are ranked 13th and staying alive with one game to go.The Pirates (8-9-3, 5-5-3 in Orange Empire Conference) will play the No. 12 ranked Riverside Community College, away, at 3 p.m. Friday (Nov. 13) which may affect the postseason seeding for Coast.The lady Pirates (13-5-1, 9-5-1) will finish the season off with a guaranteed-win Friday due to a forfeit by Irvine Valley College because of a lack of healthy players.Check back on the OCC Sports Blog on Saturday to see the official playoff bracket of both teams.
By
Tony Lee
On
Sunday, October 04, 2009
The week of Oct. 5 through Oct. 11 will be a busy time for the Orange Coast College athletics program and the blog.The men's soccer team takes its perfect Orange Empire Conference record to Irvine Valley College Tuesday (Oct. 6) at 3 p.m. and the women's soccer team will play Fullerton College at the LeBard Stadium, starting at 7 p.m.That's right, there will be a soccer game in the football stadium and the OCC Sports Blog will cover the game live via Twitter and post pictures/interviews immediately after the game.The men's record is 5-4, 2-0 in the OEC, and the women's is 7-2, 3-2 in OEC.On Wednesday (Oct. 7), the women's volleyball team hopes to continue its perfect streak (7-0, 1-0) of not losing a single set this season against rivals Golden West College at the Peterson Gym, starting at 6 p.m. (Also another game covered on Twitter and this blog).
Also, the women's water polo team has its first home game Wednesday (Oct. 7) against Cypress College at 3 p.m.
The Coast football team suffered its first loss of the season to Fullerton College Saturday (Oct. 3) and hopes to bounce back in its home OEC opener Saturday (Oct. 10) at the LeBard Stadium.
The Pirates (4-1, 0-1) will host Santa Ana College starting at 6 p.m.
I'm going to be busy this week but, hey, this is what I live for.
By
Tony Lee
On
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Both the men's and women's soccer programs at Orange Coast College swept division rivals Tuesday (Sept. 29), but both did it with their own style.The lady Pirates (7-2, 3-2 in conference), led by this week's Pirate of the Week Kallie Ryker's (pictured) three goals, won in a 3-0 shutout.Coast's Lara Tishler, Taryn Bales and Ayla Medina assisted on Ryker's goals.On the other hand, the Pirates (4-4, 1-0 in conference), led by William Munoz's two goals, came back after trailing Santiago Canyon College by a goal early in the second half to win 2-1.Coast's Anthony Gonzalez and Jordan Gorman assisted on Munoz's goals and goalkeeper Brian Repetto posted eight goals in the contest.Men's team will return to action Friday (Oct. 2) at Cypress College. Following another road game at Irvine Valley on Tuesday (Oct. 6), the Pirates will host Golden West College Oct. 9. All games start at 3 p.m.The lady Pirates will return to action on Tuesday (Oct. 6) against Fullerton, beginning at 7 p.m. at LeBard Stadium.
[Photo by Tony Lee]
By
Tony Lee
On
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
The men's soccer team played its first preseason game before the 2009 fall semester at home and lost 3-1 to Rio Hondo College on Aug. 27.I'd write a summary myself but OCC's Sports Information Director Tony Altobelli beat me to it. [Click here to read the game recap] After talking to head coach Laird Hayes at practice on Monday (Aug. 31), he said Toshi Fujimura, an all-Orange Empire Conference player in 2008, will not play for the Pirates in the fall because he did not pass a three-unit online class to be academically eligible.He added the team still has depth and can be competitive despite losing Fujimura.The Pirates will play its second home game today (Sept. 1) against San Diego Mesa College at 4 p.m.Results of the SD Mesa game will be posted later on the blog today.EDITThe Pirates are back on top, as the men's soccer team defeated visiting San Diego Mesa College 2-1 Tuesday at the OCC Soccer Complex.I was also taking some pictures of Tuesday's game and will have those up in the near future. To read the game summary written by Altobelli, click here.[Photo by Tony Lee]
By
Tony Lee
On
Friday, July 03, 2009
After missing last year’s playoffs by only a point, the men’s soccer team prepares for the fall by recruiting local players—head coach Laird Hayes’ philosophy.“I’m not going outside Coast Community College district area. We should have a good crop of players from Newport and Estancia—both of whom made it into the second round of CIF last year,” Hayes said. “I feel community colleges should concentrate on developing local players.”The Pirates will be led by last year’s All-Orange Empire Conference midfielder Toshi Fujimura, goalkeeper Brian Rippeto, Adrian Buonanoce, Darren Drysdale and Colin Heim along with the freshmen recruits. Hayes added he expects last year’s redshirt player Derek Woody to play significantly. “We should be more competitive this coming year than last year,” Hayes said. “All these guys looked real good in the offseason conditioning program that we have.” [Photo by Hank Schellingerhout]
Prior to the 4-0 loss to Riverside Community College in its season finale Friday (Nov. 13), Orange Coast College's men’s soccer team was ranked 16th in the region.
