Ronquillo’s goal lifts Pirates past Palomar

Freshman forward Sarah Ronquillo has scored some big goals in the

last three weeks for No. 3-seeded Orange Coast.

None carry more weight than her game-winner in the 115th minute to

help the Pirates (21-1-2) take out 11th-seeded Palomar, 3-2, Saturday

afternoon in the second round of the Southern California Regional

Playoffs.

The not-so-secret weapon of Lauren Cassity and her lengthy

throw-ins set up two of the three Coast goals on the afternoon. She

picked out Nikki Saenz at the 37-minute mark that brought the Pirates

even at 1-1. A second long-range missile found Ronquillo unmarked in

the Palomar penalty area with just five minutes remaining in the game

to assure the Pirates of a third meeting with Orange Empire

Conference rival Cypress on Tuesday at 2 p.m.

The visiting Comets (16-6-1) got on the board first, the second

straight playoff game the Pirates have gone down by a goal. After a

giveaway in the Coast defense provided the Comets with a corner kick,

Jeanette Bonavries floated a ball to Kristy Ellis at the back post,

who headed in from short range.

Tied, 1-1, at halftime, the Bucs grabbed their first lead on the

hour mark. Fernanda Velasco converted her second postseason goal,

talking a feed from Jaycee Mahler and put the Pirates in front. The

lead did not last long, however, as the Comets equalized seven

minutes later.

California Community college rules dictate that the entire 30

minutes of overtime be played, so the Pirates still had to kill off

the final five minutes after taking the lead. Margaret Landeros and

the Coast defense, led by Cassity, Rosie Dobbs, Alicia Santiago and

Lisa Dunn, were up to the task.

Landeros made eight saves in the game and gave the Pirates a

rematch of last season’s third-round game against OEC champion

Cypress.

Last season, the Bucs fell, 2-0, to the Chargers in the

quarterfinals of the State Tournament. This season, the Charges took

a 2-1 decision over the Bucs in Cypress, while the teams tied, 1-1,

in Costa Mesa. Those two goals are the only ones surrendered by the

Cypress defense this season, while scoring 124.