Fichman's seven goals leads Pirates past Saddleback, 14-10
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saddleback (10-6, 1-2) | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 |
|
Orange Coast (9-4, 2-0) | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 14 |
COSTA MESA -- Nicholas Fichman notched seven goals to lead the Orange Coast College men's water polo team to a convincing 14-10 win over visiting Saddleback College on Wednesday in a crucial Orange Empire Conference matchup.
The Pirates (9-4, 2-0 in conference) used the middle two quarters to pull away from the Gauchos (10-6, 1-2). With both teams locked in a 4-4 tie late in the first quarter, OCC went on a 10-3 scoring run that put Coast up 14-7 with less than six minutes remaining in the contest. Saddleback scored the final three goals of the match, but the contest was well in hand for the Pirates by then.
Eduardo Wainberg added to the Pirate offense with four goals, while Gabriele Simonti, Luke Rhone and Ryan Baumann each scored single tallies.
Rhone also paced the offense with three assists, while Angel Rosado and goalie Steven Magdaleno each added two for Coast.
Matt Roche and James Martin each scored three goals for the Gauchos, while Andrew Dimino added two.
In goal, Magdaleno opened the match for Coast and came up with five saves while allowing four goal over the first two quarters, before Conor Halloran finished things off with five saves over the final two quarters for OCC. Saddleback's goalie tandem of Brandon Davis and Grant Chauncey combined for nine saves for the match.
In a high-scoring opening quarter, Coast jumped out to a 3-1 lead and led 5-4 through the opening eight minutes. The match was still up for grabs with 2:39 left in the second quarter as a goal by Roche trimmed OCC's lead to 7-6.
But from there, Coast scored seven of the next eight goals to grab control of the match. Fichman and Wainberg combined for six OCC goals over that span to lead the Pirates to a convincing win.
Coast will head north this weekend to the Cuesta College tournament, beginning on Saturday before returning to OEC action on Wednesday at Fullerton College, beginning at 4 p.m.
