Colleges: OCC and Vanguard play on

Steve Virgen

Orange Coast College Athletic Director Fred Hokanson and Pirates

football coach Mike Taylor said Thursday they support the California

Community Commission on Athletics’ decision to keep the weekend athletic

schedule intact.

Hokanson and Taylor voiced support for the COA Board, which in a

Thursday release stated: “... we will not disrupt our programs and be

victims of the chaos,” stemming from Tuesday’s terrorist attacks on

America.

The decision on whether or not to cancel events comes from the State

Chancellor’s office.

The OCC football team will host Los Angeles Harbor, Saturday at 1 p.m.

Also, the Pirates’ women’s soccer team will host Fullerton, today at 3

p.m.

‘[Tuesday] was a great loss and a great tragedy,” said Taylor, whose

daughter, Nicole, works in a building adjacent to the Capitol building in

Washington D.C. “One of the things about our country is that we bounce

back and fight forward and that’s what we’re trying to do. (The players)

realize the magnitude of the crimes. They also like the routine of being

in school and being active. I think they’re looking forward to continuing

what’s going on with their personal lives and also setting aside time to

pray.”

Hokanson concurred.

“We need to try to get the people back into daily activities,” said

Hokanson, who will attend Saturday’s football game. “It’s definitely

tragic, but we have to get these students back into school. One of the

biggest reasons the NFL is not having games is because there are so many

people from far areas. (The terrorist attacks are) a sorrowful thing, but

I think we need to keep the teams going forward.”

The COA release also suggests schools observe a moment of silence in

honor of the victims.

Vanguard University, a member of the NAIA, will also keep its weekend

schedule intact. The Lions men’s soccer team will host its Vanguard

University Soccer Classic today and Saturday, while the women’s

volleyball team will host Westmont tonight at 7, then play at Cal

Lutheran Saturday at 7 p.m.

The men’s soccer tournament will include Cal State Monterey and Menlo

College.

The Vanguard men’s and women’s cross country teams had to improvise

their schedule. The squads were set to compete at an invitational meet at

San Diego State, but that was canceled. Instead, the Lions will compete

in an invitational meet in Claremont, Vanguard Sports Information

Director Beth Renkoski said.

The Vanguard women’s soccer team was stranded in Nebraska after

playing games there earlier this week. Because all flights were canceled

Tuesday, the Vanguard team stayed in Nebraska and then chartered a bus

and were due to return to Costa Mesa Thursday.

All UC Irvine athletic events through Sunday have been postponed and

no new dates have been announced.