Pirates take care of Panthers for playoff win

COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College women's soccer team took care of business and delivered a 1-0 win over visiting Chaffey College in the second round of the Southern California Regional Playoffs on Saturday night inside OCC's LeBard Stadium.

With the win, the 8th-seeded Pirates (15-5-3) will take on Orange Empire Conference rival, Saddleback College, on Tuesday night in Mission Viejo, beginning at 6 p.m. The top-seeded Bobcats shut down San Bernardino Valley, 3-0, in their second-round playoff matchup.

"That was a nice win for us," OCC head coach Kevin Smith said. "I felt like we controlled things and had the best opportunities, but we couldn't get a finish until Maddie's shot went in. Chaffey played hard and even though they were shorthanded, it was a good, tough match."

Against a determined, but shorthanded Panther squad, Coast controlled the majority of the action, outshooting the Panthers, 23-6 and earning nine corner kicks to Chaffey's two. In the first half, Coast outshot Chaffey, 15-3, but the match was still scoreless after 45 minutes of play.

Finally, in the 47th minute of play, a long throw-in from Kennedy Heimer made its way to Olivia Hostetler, who passed back to teammate Maddie Valdez near the top of the box and the sophomore standout didn't miss, ripping a shot into the lower-right corner of the goal for the lone score of the match.

OCC goalkeeper Samantha Ortega was having a pretty care-free night, until a mishandled ball late in the second half found its way to Chaffey's Chloe Rodriguez, who had a breakaway opportunity on the Pirate goalkeeper. Rodriguez ripped a shot on goal and Ortega made the big save of the night to keep the Panthers a goal behind. 

Chaffey's goalkeeper, Isabella Ortiz had a much busier evening and finished with 10 saves and did a masterful job of keeping her team within a goal all night. Injuries depleted the Panther roster to just 13 active players, but they played an inspired game against a much deeper Pirate squad.

The Panthers had one final opportunity with a last-minute corner kick for the final play of the night, but the ball was kept clear of the goal and the Pirates earned the win.

Up next is a familiar foe ... the 2025 Orange Empire Conference champions ... the Saddleback College Bobcats. This will be the third matchup of the season between the Pirates and Bobcats. At Saddleback on Oct. 10, Coast went down there and earned a 1-1 draw. In the rematch on Nov. 4 at OCC, Coast rallied from a goal behind to stun the Bobcats, 3-2, their second of two losses for the entire season (16-2-3).

All five OEC teams -- OCC, Saddleback, Cypress, Golden West and Santiago Canyon -- have reached the third round of the Southern California Regional Playoffs. Cypress will host Golden West on Tuesday, while Santiago Canyon will host Santa Barbara City College, also on Tuesday.

The Pirates advance to the third round of the playoffs for the first time in 12 years, when they toppled L.A. Pierce on penalty kicks for a second-round win on Nov. 26, 2013.