Pirates split pair at Day 1 of OEC Championships
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Orange Coast (18-10, 4-3) | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 12 |
|
Saddleback (23-4, 5-1) | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 14 |
COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College men's water polo team went 1-1 on the opening day of the 2023 Orange Empire Conference Men's Water Polo Championships on Thursday at the OCC Aquatics Pavilion.
In the opener, the No. 3-seeded Pirates cruised to a 33-1 rout of Fullerton College. Grant Busta led the way with eight goals, while Sean Tannehill added four. In all, FIFTEEN different Pirate players, including goalie Dariush Kashani, notched at least one goal against the Hornets. In his more traditional role as goalie, Kashani held the Hornets to one goal with five saves.
The win gave OCC (18-10 overall, 4-3 in the OEC) a matchup against the top-seeded Saddleback College Bobcats and the Pirates carried a fourth-quarter lead before a late Bobcat rally gave the guests a 14-12 win.
Trailing 10-9 heading into the fourth quarter, a pair of Jacob Muller goals and a score from Caden Carpenter gave OCC a 12-10 advantage with just over five minutes remaining. But the Bobcats rallied with two goals from Armand Le Goff and goals from Andrew Barnuevo and Matthew Arellano to seal the deal for Saddleback.
Carpenter finished the game with five goals to lead the Pirates, while Muller and Ryan O'Donovan each had two. Goalie Roman Christenot had 11 saves for OCC.
The loss will send the Pirates to the third-place game, where they will take on Cypress College on Saturday at OCC, beginning at 11:10 a.m.
