Youth not served

Bryce Alderton

Tuesday marked the first day of school in the Newport-Mesa Unified

School District and like a teacher who inherits an entirely new group

of students, Orange Coast College women’s soccer coach Barbara Bond

didn’t know what to expect from a team that has only two returners

from last year’s 21-2-2 squad.

“We are a 95% freshmen team,” Bond said after Pasadena’s 2-1

victory over host OCC. “I was anticipating this game, but I didn’t

know what to expect. I walk away pleased with what I saw.”

What Bond and assistant coach Kevin Smith saw was a team that lost

nine returners -- three to injury, three to academic ineligibility

and three who transferred -- maintain its focus and intensity against

a physical Pasadena team. The teams combined for five yellow cards,

three by Pasadena and two by OCC.

“I didn’t know much about Pasadena, but after seeing [Tuesday’s]

game, I know that it is one of the better teams we are going to

face,” Bond said.

Coast (0-1) had several scoring chances in the last few minutes,

but Pasadena’s defense held up enough to protect a 2-1 lead it had

going into halftime.

Coast tied the score at 1-1 in the 15th minute, when sophomore

forward Melissa Mangrello, one of the Pirates’ two returners from a

year ago in uniform Tuesday, fired a corner kick to the far post and

found the head of freshman Lindsay Vickers, from Heidelberg, Germany,

who put the ball in the back of the net.

Pasadena (2-0) took an early 1-0 lead when forward Kyana Wilkerson

took control of an errant pass just inside OCC territory less than

two minutes into the game, cut to her right just inside the penalty

area and ripped a shot just over the hands of Coast sophomore

goalkeeper Heather Metcalf.

A Newport Harbor High grad, Metcalf was the other returner in

uniform Tuesday for the Pirates.

Wilkerson then scored the winning goal in the 20th minute when she

collected the ball to the right of the Pirates’ goal and sneaked the

shot just under the crossbar.

Metcalf made all three of her saves in the first half as Coast’s

defense tried to corral a speedy Pasadena team. Coast defenders Nancy

Diaz and Sara Ajifu booted several balls out of the zone and

positioned themselves well to block centering passes.

“We didn’t get down after Pasadena scored in the first few minutes

and that shows a strong work ethic,” Bond said. “They played hard.”

Coast just couldn’t get the ball enough times to Mangrello and

fellow forward Jenny Chavis, a freshman out of Mater Dei.

“I expect us to be able to score, we just have to get them the

ball,” Bond said.

Freshman Brittany Pierce slotted a ball down the sideline for

Mangrello, who crossed across the box toward midfielder Michelle

Jacot, but the Lancers’ Sabrina Witt knocked the pass away. Lancers

defender Connie Vasquez slide-kicked a pass away in the 78th minute

while Traci Trujillo headed out a centering pass from Coast’s Allison

Apodaca, leading a break in the 65th minute.

Pasadena, which finished 12-6-1 a year ago, outshot Coast, 9-3,

quite to the surprise of Cherif Zein, the school’s director of

soccer. Zein took over the head coaching duties this season when Dan

Petta suffered a stroke seven months ago. Petta was back on the

sidelines Tuesday.

“I didn’t think we had a chance [Tuesday],” Zein said. “OCC is a

good team and we barely had enough. We have good central defenders

and two good midfielders so I told them to get their butts back [on

defense].

“We are not tested, whereas players in this area have so many

programs to get involved in.”

Coast’s first exam of sorts came Tuesday, with everybody

contributing, Bond said.

“We moved the defense around in the second half,” she said. “We

hope to close that gap between the defenders and two forwards.”

Whoever took control of the ball often had no one within five

yards to provide a passing option.

Closing the chasm of inexperience at this early stage is also a

goal for Coast, which lost Sarah Ronquillo for the season when she

tore her anterior cruciate ligament, medial collateral ligament and

meniscus playing soccer in the offseason. She had surgery in April.

Ronquillo, a Costa Mesa High grad, earned second-team All-Orange

Empire Conference honors last season when she scored 11 goals and

added five assists. Kacy Teaford and Tory Nicolaides also tore their

ACLs and will not play this season, Bond added.

Summer Chaldu, an all-conference second-team selection a year ago,

will play soccer at San Francisco State while Rosie Dobbs transferred

to UC Berkeley.

“That’s what we are here for,” Bond said about the transfers.

“Those players are good students. The bad side is the three who are

ineligible

“We are inexperienced, but it is exciting at the same time.”