Pirates’ dynamic debut

Steve Virgen

If one game is an indication of what type of season the Orange Coast

College men’s soccer team could have, then the Pirates’ 2003 season

could be a special one.

The Pirates, who were in control for the majority of the game,

scored three goals in the second half en route to a 3-0

season-opening nonconference victory over visiting Rio Hondo

Wednesday. Throughout the first half, OCC missed on several

opportunities, yet still managed to show glimpses of the type of

talent it has.

“We have the potential to be a great team, but we just look at

this as one game,” said Kevin Smith, the OCC assistant coach. “There

is definitely something there to build on.”

The Pirates started the building with a goal in the 58th minute,

about 13 minutes into the second half, when freshman Eli Solis scored

off an assist from sophomores Joel Sotolongo and Matt Fennell. After

the goal, Solis ran into Sotolongo’s arms and playfully tackled him

in celebration. Several other Pirates piled on and it was as if they

were saying, “Finally. We scored.”

Solis’ goal opened the gates, so to speak, allowing more

opportunities for the Pirates to seize. Less than nine minutes after

the strike by Solis, freshman Jose Serpas netted an unassisted goal

when he headed in a rebound.

Solis began the scoring sequence. He sped out on a breakaway,

delivered a cross that a Rio Hondo player nearly struck in, but the

goalie slapped at it and Serpas was there to put away the rebound.

“We played pretty good,” said Solis, who set up several scoring

opportunities. “We have a lot of freshmen on the team, so next year

we should be even better. Coming up against a great team [Rio Hondo]

we did good, but we could have done better.”

The Pirates closed out the scoring when freshman Eric Nutter

finished off Fennell’s rebound from a free kick with less than six

minutes remaining.

“I thought we played awesome,” Smith said. “For us to get that

result, 3-0, it’s awesome; better than I expected. We knew we could

play, it was just a matter of how we would gel and how quickly we

would gel. For the first game, we came together pretty quickly.”

Smith, who does most of the coaching for the Pirates, while head

man Laird Hayes manages, did notice there was room for improvement in

the way Coast played in the first half. Smith said the Pirates sat on

their heels and defended when they should have attacked during a

20-minute spell in the first half.

The Pirates did manage to nearly score on four occasions in the

first 45 minutes. In the 26th minute, Solis made an accurate throw-in

to Fennell, who was running toward the goal near midfield. That set

up a breakaway, but Miguel Alvarez, the Rio Hondo goalie, slapped the

ball over the net.

Alvarez recorded four saves in the first half, while Mike Old took

over in the final 45 minutes and had five stops. OCC goalie Mark

Spears defended well and produced four saves.

Rio Hondo did not take advantage of its opportunities in the first

half, which was in contrast to what the Roadrunners did in the season

opener between these two teams last year. Rio Hondo earned a 2-0

victory over the Pirates on its way to a Foothill Conference

championship.

Last year, OCC finished third in the Orange Empire Conference. The

Pirates are confident they will improve in the standings and, from

the looks of it, they are well on their way. But, they do not want to

get ahead of themselves. When asked if the Pirates will have a

special season, Solis reacted with a cool grin and a small chuckle.

“I’ll be able to tell you in about three or four games,” he said.