Sainz Of Life: Goalie's Penalty Kick Save Helps Men's Soccer To 2nd Round Playoff OT Win

It was the save that saved the Pasadena City College men's soccer season. Tied 2-2 in injury time, Jorge Sainz, the Lancers' freshman goalie, made a diving stop on a penalty kick by LA Harbor's Alex Chavez. Sparked by the game-saving play, PCC scored two goals in the 30-minute overtime period to pull out a 4-2 win in the second round of the Southern California Regional Playoffs played Tuesday night at East Los Angeles College.



Pasadena, the region's No. 3 seed, takes a 15-5-1 overall record into the third round to face yet again another South Coast Conference opponent. PCC will play at No. 2 seed Cerritos College (19-4-1) on Saturday, Nov. 29 in a 2 p.m. match. The winner advances to the CCCAA Championship Tournament at College of the Canyons Dec. 5-7.

PCC trailed LA Harbor, the No. 6 seed, 2-1, with four minutes left in regulation. Following a corner kick by James Hernandez, reserve defender Dario Orozco tapped in the tying goal in a mad scramble in front of the goalie box. It was the first goal of the season for Orozco, who didn't enter the match until the 54th minute.

In the non-sudden death overtime, Malcolm Linton sent a low free kick that bounced through the Harbor defense to the waiting foot of Jose Cortez, who blasted in a shot from 15 yards out for the game-winning goal. It was Cortez's 11th goal of the year.

Gabriel Chavarria, another player who came off the bench for the Lancers after sitting the first 41 minutes, capped the victory with his second goal of the game in the 120th minute. Chavarria stopped a kick-out by Harbor goalie Jonathan Belcher, and with the netminder 20 yards out in front of the net, the PCC freshman lofted in a shot from 45 yards out. It's the third time this season that Chavarria scored two goals in a game, but the first since he turned the trick twice in the team's first two matches of the year. He has seven goals on the year.

After an uneventful and scoreless first half, both teams got going in the second 45-minute period. The Lancers jumped out to a 1-0 lead just three minutes into the half when Chavarria headed in a corner kick by Hernandez.

PCC's lead would then vanish in sixty seconds. In the 55th minute, Harbor's Chavez rebounded an initial shot and headed in his 25th goal of the year. Less than a minute later, Seahawks' starting goalie Roberto Sanchez launched a long kick downfield that was cradled by Tiburcio Casillas, who fired a 30-yard blast past a surprised Sainz. PCC would eventually overtake that Harbor 2-1 advantage.

While the Lancers celebrated in the pouring rain (storm didn't arrive until after PCC took a 3-2 lead in the overtime), PCC Director of Soccer Cherif Zein remarked on the play of the game.

"Sainz was unbelievable," Zein said. "Jorge was probably the only guy in the stadium who thought he could stop a penalty kick against one of the state's leading scorers. If they score there, the season is over. Instead, we live to fight another day."

Chavez had been a thorn in PCC's side in the Lancers' two SCC meetings against Harbor. Chavez scored three goals in Pasadena's 5-3 win earlier this year, then scored a goal in a 2-0 Harbor win that spoiled PCC's chances of a conference title in the SCC finale Nov. 14.

Sainz finished with seven saves.

In facing Cerritos, the Lancers are playing a rematch of a 2004 third-round playoff game that the Falcons won over PCC. PCC split its two matches v. Cerritos in conference play, winning 3-1 at PCC on Oct. 14 and losing 2-0 at the Norwalk campus Nov. 7. Cerritos is undefeated at 10-0 in home matches this season.

"We have a team that wants to win, and finds ways to win," Zein said. "It's an intangible that you can't really provide through coaching. We have a close group of guys who are united in our goal to make it to the state championships. We have a big obstacle in playing Cerritos, but at least we come in with some momentum."

PCC last advanced to the CCCAA Final Four tourney in 2002, losing to Santa Rosa Junior College in the semifinals. It was the highest finish (tied for third) in school soccer history.

Soccer Notes: The physical contest included PCC losing four players to injury in the game, the toughest being a leg injury to forward Sargis Agaronian late in the first half. Agaronian did not return. . .PCC's defensive corps of Linton, Edward Orellana, Bryant Castillo, and Dante Bruno-Lopez along with Hernandez provided key defensive plays throughout the match. . .Only four Lancers played the entire 120 minutes--Linton, Bruno-Lopez, Cortez, and Hernandez. . .Harbor was hurt by seven offsides calls, including two that wiped out goals. . .PCC's last playoff victory was four years ago, also a 4-2 overtime win--against San Diego City College. . .The Lancers are 7-5 in their playoff history, all under Coach Zein.

[Photo: Malcolm Linton drives the ball with star goalie Jorge Sainz in the background during PCC's 4-2 overtime playoff win over LA Harbor Tuesday night at East Los Angeles College, image by Richard Quinton.]