The Irvine Valley men's soccer team stayed alive in the race for the Orange Empire Conference title with an important 2-1 win over Orange Coast last Friday on the road.

The win moved IVC into a tie with Orange Coast for third place in the conference standings. Each team has 18 points.

The Lasers gave up a goal 30 seconds into the match, but came back with two goals in the first half and then held on for the win.

Less than a minute into the contest, Toshi Fujimura took a pass from Mitch Williams and buried his opportunity to give Orange Coast a 1-0 lead. 

But that was all of the Pirates' offensive success for the day as Irvine Valley (8-7-2, 6-4-0) responded with goals by Allen Villa in the 20th minute and then Villa again in the 37th minute and held on from there. Roberto Linck and Troy Chavez recorded the assists on Villa's goals.

In the game's final minutes, the Pirates (9-6-3, 5-2-3) again turned up the offensive pressure, but their best scoring chance was knocked away by the Lasers' defense.

IVC keeper Mikhail Radchuk posted five saves in the win.

Irvine Valley plays on the road on Tuesday at Santiago Canyon in another key conference match.