Pirates slip past Tigers late, win 13-12

RIVERSIDE -- The Orange Coast College women's water polo team picked up some last-minute heroics from Jillian Duwe as the Pirates escaped Riverside City College with a 13-12 Orange Empire Conference win over the host Tigers on Wednesday afternoon.

Trailing 12-11 with just under 2 minutes remaining, the Pirates (12-3, 2-0 in the OEC) -- ranked No. 4 in the state heading into today's contest -- tied things up at 12 when Natalia Stanard took a pass from Faith Cuevas and beat Tigers goalie Gabriella Fisher with 1:42 remaining.

After the sixth-ranked Tigers (8-3, 2-1) were called for an ejection on the following OCC possession, the Pirates made them pay as Duwe found an opening and didn't miss, putting Coast up for good with 52 seconds remaining in a contest that saw four lead changes and nine tied scores throughout the match. 

Stanard led the way for OCC with four goals, while Duwe added three goals and three assists. Destiny Hernandez tossed in three goals, while goalie Annabelle Sherman was all over the place, picking up 10 saves, while helping her own cause with a team-best eight steals.

The Pirates will be at the Cerritos College Mini Tournament on Friday, but will return to the OCC Aquatics Pavilion on Wednesday, Oct. 12 against Cypress College, beginning at 3 p.m.