Pirates take care of Owls in home opener
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Citrus (7-1) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 10 |
|
Orange Coast (3-2) | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 13 |
COSTA MESA -- Forever a part of Orange Coast College history now ... the men's water polo team won its first-ever official match in their brand-new Aquatics Pavilion.
Led by a stellar 14-save performance from Henry Szczuka and a four-goal afternoon from Dane Howell, the Pirates made it 1-0 in their pool with a 13-10 nonconference win over previously-unbeaten Citrus on Wednesday afternoon.
OCC (3-2) spread out the offense in the win, with two goals each from Joshua Edwards, Ethan Rose, Kyle Jolas and Caden Carpenter. Ethan Ross also added a goal for the Pirates, while Garrett Gendron led the helpers with four assists, while Carpenter added three.
Both teams went back and forth through most of the first half. Coast fell behind 3-2 before scoring four of the next five goals to take a 6-4 advantage into halftime.
Coast doubled-up Citrus in the third quarter and led 10-6 with eight minutes remaining.
The pivotal moment came early in the fourth quarter. After Citrus scored the opening goal to make it 10-7, the Owls had a breakaway opportunity to make it 10-8, but Szczuka was up to the task, stopping the Owls' shooter with a point-blank save. However, the Pirate goalie was called for an ejection on the play, leaving OCC on a goal-less 6-on-5 five disadvantage. Following a Citrus timeout, the Pirates dropped three players near the goal and the strategy paid off as a shot was deflected wide. Coast quickly responded with a goal less than a minute later to make it 11-7 in favor of the Pirates.
Both teams traded goals the rest of the way and the Pirate lead was never threatened again.
Citrus (7-1) had three goals each turned in by Breck Weiny and Ian Tauer.
The Pirates will return to the OCC Aquatics Pavilion on Wednesday against Riverside, beginning at 3 p.m.
