On a chilly November night at the VC Sportsplex, Jennifer Ramirez hit a crossing pass right to left across the penalty box to Alix Tirado, whose one-touch shot rolled inside the near post for the game-winning goal as the Pirates' women's soccer team advanced in the Southern California Regional Playoffs with a 1-0 victory over Los Angeles Pierce on Saturday. VC's 26th minute score withstood the test of time as Kambria Haughton had a pair of saves and the Ventura defense posted the shutout win to move forward in the bracket.
Ventura (16-3-3), seeded No. 7, put pressure on No. 10 Pierce from the opening kick, producing a pair of scoring chances within the first eight minutes of play. At the 12-minute mark, Justice Jones had a nice run down the right side, sending a centering pass to Tirado, who had a shot on goal saved by the Brahmas' goal keeper.
The Pirates finally broke through in the 26th minute when Ramirez send her pass across the box to Tirado, who slotted her shot between the keeper and the inside post for the only score of the night.
Ventura remained on the offensive with the slim advantage as Ramirez had another run down the right side in the 42nd minute, centering a pass to Jones, whose shot sailed high.
VC led at intermission 1-0.
In the second half, the Pirates remained aggressive offensively, making the Pierce defense work. In the 66th minute Sasha Franco hit a shot from 25 yards out that flew just above the crossbar. VC had a total of 12 shots on the night, with five on target.
Pierce did produce a couple of solid scoring chances, the last of which came in the 70th minute. They got close to the goal with an attack that was turned back by the defense, and Haughton was able to grab the ensuing corner kick to eliminate the Brhmas' opportunity for an equalizer.
As the clock moved forward, Ventura was able to control the ball a majority of the time, and Tirado had another solid scoring chance in the 86th minute that was unsuccessful. In the end, the VC defense held fast and the Pirates claimed the 1-0 triumph.
WSoc ⚽️: FullTime. @VCpiratesoccer makes Tirado's goal stand. VC defeats LAPierce 1-0 in 2nd round of @CCCAASports SoCal Regionals. pic.twitter.com/JLncR3bozp
— VCPirateAthletics (@VCAthletics) November 20, 2021
The Pirates move on to the second round of the playoffs, traveling to No. 2 Saddleback College on Tuesday Nov. 23. Kickoff in Mission Viejo is scheduled for 7:00 pm.