Briefs: No. 2 Lions at home

The Vanguard University women’s soccer team, ranked No. 2 in the NAIA and coming off regular-season and tournament championships in the Golden State Athletic Conference, play host to Embry Riddle of Arizona in the opening round of the 32-team NAIA Tournament on Saturday at 1 p.m.

The Lions (16-2) are on a 12-game winning streak during which they have outscored opponents, 39-2.

Vanguard, the No. 3 national seed, needs a win to advance to the 16-team draw that will compete in Orange Beach, Ala. beginning Nov. 26.

Coach Randy Dodge’s Lions, led by junior transfer Jordan Davidson, who has 16 goals and nine assists, defeated Embry Riddle, 2-0, in their season opener on Sept. 1.

Vanguard, which has outscored opponents, 57-7, this season, has not lost since Sept. 22, when Cal State San Marcos produced a 2-1 victory in overtime.

— From staff reports

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Lions battle Cougars

The No. 22-ranked Vanguard University women’s volleyball team will play host to Cal State San Marcos in the opening round of the NAIA championships on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Vanguard (17-14), at at-large entry, will be attempting to advance to Sioux City, Iowa for the 24-team national tournament that begins Nov. 27.

Cal State San Marcos (28-13) lost to Vanguard, 25-15, 25-20, 25-22, in their regular-season meeting on Oct. 12.

Those 24 teams will form six pools of four to compete in round-robin play through Nov. 29. The top two from each pool advance to a single-elimination bracket that begins play on Nov. 30.

— From staff reports

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OCC women streaking

The Orange Coast College women’s soccer team (17-3) will visit Los Angeles Pierce for a first-round match in the California Community College Athletic Assn. Southern California Regional playoffs on Saturday at 2 p.m.

The Pirates, who finished third in the Orange Empire Conference, are ranked No. 11 in the state and No. 8 in Southern California. They are the No. 9 seed in the SoCal Regionals.

Pierce (12-4-4) is the No. 8 seed.

With a victory Saturday, OCC would likely face a rematch with No. 1 seeded Santiago Canyon (19-0-1), the Orange Empire Conference champion, in Tuesday’s second round.

OCC is led by sophomore forward Sara Gomez (19 goals and nine assists) and sophomore midfielder Sarah MacArthur (15 goals and 11 assists).

The Pirates have outscored foes, 35-2, during their current winning streak and 78-12 all season. OCC has 15 wins by a margin of three goals or more and has posted 14 shutouts.

— From staff reports

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OCC men on road

The Orange Coast College men’s soccer team will visit Oxnard in the first round of the California Community College Athletic Assn. Southern California Regional playoffs on Saturday at 2 p.m.

The Pirates (11-5-4) are the No. 13 seed, while Oxnard (14-2-4) is the No. 4 seed.

Oxnard is ranked No. 6 in the state and No. 3 in SoCal.

The winner advances to Tuesday’s second round.

OCC is led by freshman forward and Costa Mesa High product Jorge Sanchez (16 goals and six assists), as well as sophomore midfielders Brandon Bauman (eight goals and 20 assists) and Baji Chela (11 goals and eight assists).

— From staff reports

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Starring earns honor

UC Irvine senior guard Daman Starring was named the season’s first Big West Conference Player of the Week in men’s basketball.

Starring scored a career-high 25 points and added seven rebounds and two assists in a season-opening, 78-64 win over Nevada at the Bren Center. Starring hit all 10 of his free-throw attempts in the victory.

He is UCI’s first Big West Player of the Week since Derick Flowers earned the award last Dec. 31.

Starring also was named the Mid-Major National Player of the Week by College Sports Madness.

— From staff reports

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Charity event coming

Former NFL stars Andre Reed, Chris McCalister and Anthony Miller are among a handful of celebrity guests who are helping to lead the inaugural Dave & Buster’s Charity Golf Classic to benefit Talk About Curing Autism.

The event also features a charity dinner Sunday at 7 p.m. at the Dave & Buster’s in Irvine. The dinner is $50 and includes a $15 game card along with five raffle tickets and unlimited video play that night.

The Golf Classic is on Monday, with registration at 9 a.m. and tee time at 11 a.m. at Aliso Viejo Country Club.

In addition to Reed, the former prolific receiver for the Buffalo Bills, McCalister, the former ball-hawking defensive back for the Baltimore Ravens, and Anthony Miller, the former San Diego Chargers receiver, actor David Scott Lugo, actress Cindy Vela and Dan “Nitro” Clark of American Gladiators fame are also scheduled to appear.

For information visit tacagolf.com.

— From staff reports

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Chin advances to final stage of Q School

John Chin, a 2010 All-American at UC Irvine, has qualified for the final stage of PGA Qualifying School for the second straight year.

Chin shot a nine-under total of 279 over four rounds during the second stage that concluded Friday at Redstone Golf Club in Humble, Tex. He shot three-under 69 in the final round Friday and finished in a tie for ninth place.

The top 19 players and ties earned tickets to the final stage, which will be played over six rounds Nov. 28-Dec. 3 at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif., on the TPC Stadium and Nicklaus Tournament courses.

The top 25 players, plus ties, from the final stage earn PGA Tour cards for next year. The next 50 players, plus ties, earn Web.com Tour cards for the following year, and any remaining finishers receive conditional status on the Web.com Tour.

As a senior at UCI, Chin ranked No. 1 in the final 2010 Golfstat Cup with a 70.05 average and he finished first in four tournaments. He had 11 top-10 finishes, including eight top-5s.

Chin was a 2010 Golfweek and PING All-America First Team (first in UCI’s NCAA Division I history) and he was named to the 2010 All-Nicklaus team.

He was a three-time Big West Conference Golfer of the Year and two-time medalist at the Big West Conference Championship, including in 2010 when he won the 54-hole tournament by nine shots.

Chin was a member of the 2010 United States Palmer Cup team that defeated Europe, 13-11, in Northern Ireland.

— From staff reports