Pirates stun Hawks with 2-0 win

ORANGE -- The Orange Coast College women's soccer team pulled off a feat that hasn't been accomplished in over 13 years ... the Pirates topped soccer kingpin Santiago Canyon, 2-0, on Friday at SCC, in an Orange Empire Conference matchup.

Since 2004, the Hawks have been one of the most dominant teams in California Community College sports history, winning 13 consecutive OEC titles. They have 12 regional finals, five state finals, two state championships and one national championship over that span, while notching a 282-21-24 record (.895 winning percentage) over that span.

Also since 2004, the Pirates have an 0-29-1 record against the Hawks, including four playoff defeats, but on Friday, that winless streak against their longtime nemesis.

"I'm so proud of the girls. They really played a solid match against a top-quality opponent," OCC head coach Kevin Smith said. "We left it all on the field and we countered against their aggressive style very well. We played good, solid, compact defense and our goalkeeper (Alison Marlow) made the big saves when we needed them."

Marlow, who finished with six saves for the afternoon, kept the Pirates (4-1-2, 2-0-0 in conference) tied with the Hawks (3-2-1, 0-1-1), who where fired up following a surprising 1-1 tie against Irvine Valley earlier in the week.

Finally, just six minutes into the second half, Mackenzie Dean sent in a perfectly timed through-ball to teammate Tiffany Chantler and the freshman forward chipped in a shot over SCC's goalkeeper Siera Pedroza (two saves) to make it 1-0, Pirates.

It stayed that way until the 75th minute, when a free kick by Samantha Oliver was misjudged by Pedroza and the ball found its way to Hailey Auer and the freshman forward scored into a wide-open net to give the Pirates a 2-0 advantage.

The Hawks refused to go away, but Marlow and the Pirate defense refused remaining scoring chances for the hosts, giving OCC a win for the ages.

Coast returns to action on Friday at home against Irvine Valley, beginning at 3 p.m.

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