Coast completes task

Bryce Alderton

Orange Coast College men’s soccer players had a complete game in

them. It just didn’t surface until Tuesday against Fullerton in the

final regular-season contest of the autumn.

Jose Serpas added to his team lead with three goals while Eli

Solis and Will Guzman each tallied two assists in the host Pirates’

6-0 triumph against Fullerton to conclude Orange Empire Conference

play.

Coast (10-4-5, 8-2-4 in the OEC) finished second in the conference

to Santa Ana (14-0-4, 10-0-3 heading into play Tuesday) and will

learn Thursday if it qualified for the state’s Commission on

Athletics regional playoffs when seedings are announced. First-round

games will be held Tuesday.

Seven teams from the five conferences in Southern California --

Western States, Foothill, the OEC, Pacific Coast and South Coast --

will qualify for postseason along with each circuit’s respective

champion.

Teams will be chosen based on a power-point ranking system that

awards points for playing and beating opponents with a greater

winning percentage.

Points are also awarded for ties. Coast’s resume includes two ties

to Santa Ana, the top-ranked team in the state.

Bull all focus was on the Hornets (6-6-7, 3-6-5) Tuesday.

The Pirates scored five of their goals in the second half,

including two within the first three minutes after halftime.

Serpas, battling food poisoning he said came from seafood he ate

last weekend, tallied the first three goals while Sanchez, Greg Brown

and Christian Arambula each added one apiece.

Miguel Ochoa added an assist while goalkeeper Trent Painter

stopped four shots to tally his sixth shutout this season. With Coast

leading, 4-0, in the 59th minute, Painter dived to his left to block

a shot by Fullerton’s Rommel Rios, eliciting an appreciative cheer

from OCC fans.

The Pirates were not done scoring, however.

Less than a minute later, Brown found himself alone in the box and

calmly tapped in a crossing pass from Ochoa. Arambula notched his

first goal of the season in the 87th minute when he booted in a pass

from Sanchez.

The Pirates’ hustle through the full 90 minutes was a welcome

sight for Coast Coach Glenn Strachan.

“They were mentally focused the whole time and never got

comfortable the whole game,” Strachan said. “This time of year, you

never know about that.”

Strachan added that Coast played its most complete game “by far.”

Coast entered the contest with two ties and a loss in its last

three games, but was determined to turn around its fortunes against

Fullerton, Serpas said.

“The last few games we got up, then our mentality went somewhere

else,” Serpas said. “[Against the Hornets], everyone was in it.”

Serpas finished the regular season with a team-leading 17 goals

and six assists (40 points) and tied Santa Ana’s Jonathan Jauregui

for the conference scoring crown.

“[Serpas] is strong, athletic and has great touch,” Strachan said.

“It’s nice to have someone like that.”