By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director

College of the Canyons sophomore Lauryn Bailey netted a pair of penalty kick goals to help the No. 18 ranked Cougars end the first round of conference play with a 3-1 home victory over Santa Monica College on Oct. 18.

Canyons (8-3-2, 5-1-1) was able to get back in the win column after a 1-0 home loss to Citrus College on Oct. 11 and a scoreless draw vs. host Antelope Valley College on Oct. 14. With Tuesday’s victory the Cougars currently sit a game behind AVC for the top spot in the Western State Conference (WSC), South Division.

Santa Monica (8-5-1, 4-3) was first to score with a nicely played ball off the foot of Jacky Hernandez which beat Canyons goalkeeper Kylie Yuzon. The Hernandez goal came off a nice assist from Vashti Zuniga and put the match at 1-0 for the SMC side.

Late in the first half, a stoppage time foul in the box by the Corsairs awarded Canyons a penalty kick which was promptly executed by Bailey to tie the game at 1-1.

It took Canyons just over a minute of second-half action to move ahead at 2-1 after Sascha Marcellin booted one over the line for her second score of the season. The scoring play, which came in the 4^7th minute, included an assist from Jessie Bonsness.

Despite the early goal from Santa Monica, the Canyons defense and play of Yuzon was particularly strong on Tuesday. The sophomore keeper recorded five saves in the match, several of the highlight variety, to thwart any attempts of a Corsairs comeback.

In the 67th minute it was Marcellin again making an impact on the game, this time by drawing another SMC penalty in the box to earn her side another PK. For the second time in as many tries it was Bailey who converted, good for her 10th goal of the season and a 3-1 COC advantage.

Canyons outshot Santa Monica 14-7 in the game. Each side earned a sole corner kick. The Corsairs were charged with eight fouls in the game, two if which proved especially costly.

The Cougars will begin the second round of conference play at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21 with a home match vs. L.A. Valley College. COC previously defeated LAVC in a 3-2 road result back on Sept. 27.

Stay up to date on all this season’s action by following the College of the Canyons Athletic department on social media at @COCathletics on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.