The Orange Coast College women's soccer team got to experience playing under the LeBard Stadium lights for the first time this season.
After starting the second half with a 2-0 cushion, Coast (8-2, 4-2 in the Orange Empire Conference) squeaked-out with a 2-1 victory Tuesday (Oct. 6) as Fullerton College's last shot attempt hit the crossbar and extended the lady Pirates' winning streak to three.
"More than anything we just got to close the deal," OCC head coach Kevin Smith said. "The other team played with a lot of heart and they battled back."
The lady Pirates' opened up the scoring in the 25th minute when midfielder Chelsea Hilliard passed a ball to teammate Taryn Bales, who stayed just onside, beat her defender and scored on the Hornets' goalkeeper Briana Magana - who had two point-blank blocks already in the first half.
Bales also added an assist in the contest just 14 minutes later as teammate Kallie Ryker scored on Bales' pass.
"They've played with each other for few years now, with club soccer and now here, and they're on the same page and things are going good," Smith said.
But in the second half, the Hornets (5-4-2, 3-2-2) changed its formation to an offensive-heavy lineup and forced the lady Pirates to reorganize its defense.
In the 67th minute, Fullerton's Megan Byrum got snuck-passed Coast's defense and scored in the top-right corner to cut the lead to one.
"2-0 is a dangerous score in soccer," Hornets' coach Pam Lewin said. "Once we got one goal, we were really pressing hard to get that goal...We just played a lot better in the second half."
But Fullerton could not take advantage of the leading OEC goal scorer Kimmi Walsh - thanks to Hilliard's defense.
"Chelsea is kind of the heart of the defense as far as her intensity and her discipline," Smith said. "The leading scorer is on their team and for the most part shut her down. I think (Walsh) had one shot at goal today."
However, Smith said the team still needs to work on it's mental game to avoid a potential meltdown like Tuesday night's second half.
"We've got to maintain that high-level of concentration for 90-minutes," he said. "We seem to every game just have a little bit of a time where we lapse - where we don't get out quick as a team like we should or we don't close down and get in a little lull."
Magana finished with another point-blank deflection for a total of seven blocks. Coast's goalkeeper Alyssa Simon also finished with seven blocks.
The lady Pirates' next home match will be on Friday (Oct. 16) against Riverside Communty College at 1 p.m. at the OCC Soccer Complex.
"I wish we can play all our games here," Bales said of playing at LeBard Stadium. "I think it pumps everybody up when we play under the lights and I heard we have a good reputation. We don't lose in the stadium so I think its good luck."
[Photos by Tony Lee]
“To be honest with you, out of the bat, Riverside on the road, turned out to be a pretty big win,” Smith said of beating the 10th ranked team in the southern region.
