Pirates, Spartans battle to 2-2 tie
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
MiraCosta (1-1-5) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
|
Orange Coast (1-3-2) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College men's soccer team battled to a 2-2 tie with visiting MiraCosta College on Friday at the OCC Soccer Complex in a nonconference matchup.
The Spartans (1-1-5), a team with five draws on their overall record through seven matches, went ahead twice in the contest, only to see the Pirates (1-3-2) battle back both times to even the score.
MiraCosta found the back of the net in the 21st minute, when Charaboy Iniestra sent a pass over to a wide-open Cesar Cruz, who scored to put the Spartans up, 1-0.
Just 12 minutes later, Bram Fraser carried possession down the right side and sent a long, cross-field pass to Anthony O'Neill, who controlled possession and buried a shot past MiraCosta goalkeeper, Jesse Carlos to even things at 1.
It stayed that way until the 55th minute, when MCC's Jeremiah Yolemi scored to put the Spartans back in front, 2-1.
But, in the 73rd minute, off a Spartan turnover on their own side of the field, Fraser found teammate Zenden Berbari with a nice pass and the sophomore midfielder didn't make a mistake as his shot slipped past Carlos and into the back of the net to make it 2-2.
OCC's Kotaro Kobayashi made some key saves early in the match and finished with five stops for the afternoon, while Carlos had three saves for the Spartans.
After a week off of competition, the Pirates will return to action on Tuesday, Sept. 30 at Irvine Valley College, beginning at 3 p.m. OCC's next home match will be on Friday, Oct. 3 against Santiago Canyon, also at 3 p.m.
