Men’s soccer: Cervantes answers the call

Steve Virgen

COSTA MESA - With two of its best players out, the Orange Coast

College men’s soccer team found others to fill in, such as Jesus

Cervantes, who stepped up his game and led the Pirates past rival Golden

West, 2-0, in a crucial Orange Empire Conference matchup Tuesday at OCC.

Cervantes was involved in both scores as he assisted the first and

scored the other on his own for the win.

The Pirates played without Ian Buchanan and team captain Geno

Vitale-Sansoti.

Buchanan didn’t play because he received his fifth yellow card of

conference play in the 1-0 loss at Irvine Valley Friday, which resulted

in an automatic one-game suspension.

Vitale-Sansoti left the match against Irvine Valley with a red card

and was also forced to miss Tuesday’s match.

But Cervantes, John Gump, Aaron Siemers and goalie Hilario Arriaga

answered the call.

“We were thinking ‘Let’s do it for Geno,’ ” said Siemers, who scored

the first goal, but left in the second half with an injured left

shoulder. “(Vitale-Sansoti) picks us up when we’re down. We had to play

much more physical here without him.”

Siemers scored on a quick breakaway in the 36th minute as Cervantes

delivered a cross to Siemers who finished it off with a strike into the

net for his fourth goal of the season.

In the 60th minute, the Pirates scored again. Cervantes stole the ball

and dribbled past one defender to set up a one-on-one with goalie Judson

Bouchard. Cervantes followed up a stutter step with a swift kick through

Bouchard’s outstretched legs.

“Keepers don’t like that. They hate it,” Cervantes said of getting the

ball past Bouchard.

Cervantes is in his first year at OCC, but it didn’t take him long to

find out about the Pirates-Rustlers rivalry

“I heard they were our rivals, so I was real focused to win,” he said.

“We were all focused to get the win.”

Apparently, Golden West was just as focused for its match against OCC

(8-2-4, 4-1-1 in the OEC). The Rustlers (5-6-1, 2-3-1) defended well and

controlled the opening minutes. Though they battled with physical play,

they emerged without any injuries.

OCC, on the other hand, lost Siemers, as well as Estancia High product

Edson Anaya, who sprained his left ankle when he collided with a Golden

West defender.

Pirates Coach Laird Hayes was concerned with the injuries, especially

with a match awaiting Friday at conference leader Santa Ana.

“That was obviously a really important game for us,” Hayes said of

Tuesday’s win. “This was the greatest number of substitutes we have used

with Ian and Geno out. John Gump played especially well and Jesus came up

big.”

Hayes was also impressed with the goalie, Arriaga, who, along with

Anaya, was part of Estancia’s CIF Southern Section Division IV champions

last year.

“(Arriaga is) communicating more. He’s taking charge back there,”

Hayes said of Arriaga, who had six saves. “He had been a little

tentative, but he wasn’t at all today.”

On the sideline, Vitale-Sansoti was flinching in his seat as he

watched his teammates run, jump and kick.

“I wanted to be out there so bad, especially with these guys,” he

said. “They are so fun to play with. When the balls went over the fence,

I just used all my energy to go get them. I had to do some running.”

The Pirates face Santa Ana Friday. Hayes said he has heard from other

OEC coaches that Santa Ana is unbeatable.

“We have to have our guns loaded for Santa Ana,” Hayes said.”