The Hornets women’s soccer team defeated conference opponent Orange Coast College 1-0 on Sept. 14.

Utilizing the familiar 4-3-3 formation, the Hornets’ response from a 1-1 draw against Irvine Valley on Sept. 11, was to score the only goal that earned them a grueling victory over the Pirates.

“I think we started really well in the first half and certainly came to play, and I’m glad we were able to score a goal in the first half because I don’t think we played as well in the second half,” head coach Pam Lewin said after the victory.

The Hornets controlled the tempo of the match in the beginning as they constantly applied pressure during the first half by pressing down on the Pirates backline.

It was noticeable that the Pirates showed no response when the Hornets used numerous crosses to create shot opportunities and open up the field for their attack.

Despite allowing the Pirates to dominate in corner kicks all game long, Hornets sophomore forward Brianna Remedios assisted Hornets freshman Mya Shimizu with a perfect ball coming from the middle of the attack.

Shimizu’s scored her first goal of the season as she sprinted pass the Pirates’ goalkeeper while being tackled simultaneously.

“I’m really proud of everyone and proud of the work everyone put in. We came through with the win,” forward Mya Shimizu stated after celebrating with her teammates.

Hornets forward Brianna Remedios extends her streak to three games with producing an assist or goal.

At the start the second half, the Pirates dominated ball possessions and began to turn the intensity up on the Hornets.

Hornets goalkeeper, freshman Kayla Ippolito was bombarded throughout the second half by multiple shot opportunities from the Pirates offense.

A majority of Ippolito’s six saves came in the latter stages of the match.

Ippolito recalls being in the mist of constant pressure in the second half from the Pirates’ offense, “shot after shot”.

This created doubt for the Hornet coaches, especially assistant coach Cristian Rus.

“What a change in half. I don’t think we can hold on any longer,” added Rus.

The match ended with the Pirates making an unsuccessful last-ditch effort at goal, where a Hornet defender intercepted the ball and cleared it away from the goal.

“I was really proud of everyone, as everyone did their job and we came out with a win,” said Ippolito.

Looking forward to the rest of the season, coach Lewin was optimistic in the Hornets’ ability to create chances at goal but has concerns in the team’s ability to finish the chances they create.

Lewin echoed the sentiments of her defense becoming more solid by playing more organized together as a unit.

The Hornets improve their overall record to 4-1-1 and 1-0-1 in conference.

Fullerton College hosts Santa Ana on Tuesday, Sept. 18 at 3 pm.