Pirates end stellar season with third-place showing at SoCal Regionals
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Golden West (,) | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
|
Orange Coast (,) | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
VALLEY GLEN -- The Orange Coast College women's water polo team capped off one of the best seasons in program history with a solid third-place finish at the 2017 Southern California Regional Playoffs, hosted by L.A. Valley College, this past weekend.
The Pirates (26-5), seeded No. 2 at this year's regional, opened things with an 8-4 win over Mt. San Antonio College on Friday. In a back-and-forth matchup with the Mounties, Coast finally pulled away with a 4-0 fourth quarter to advance to the regional semifinals.
Shawna Kedzie had four goals for the Pirates in the win, while Bailey Lloyd added three and Brooke Branum tossed in one. In goal, Avery Goodall notched eight saves, including several in the final quarter that helped seal the victory for the Pirates.
In the semifinals on Saturday, Coast took on familiar foe, Riverside City College with a chance to advance to the regional championship and a berth in the CCCAA State Final Four. It was the fifth meeting between the two schools this year with both teams winning twice against the other.
After both teams battled to a 4-4 tie after the first half of action, Riverside grabbed a 7-5 lead in the third before holding on for a 9-6 win over OCC.
Kedzie had four goals for Coast, while Branum and Laurin Semmelroth each scored once. Goodall notched six saves as the Pirates moved to the third-place game against another Orange Empire Conference foe, rival Golden West.
In another hard-fought battle down to the end, OCC and GWC were tied at 3 before a goal by Bailey Lloyd sealed the 4-3 win for the Pirates. Lloyd, who finishes the season with a state-best 111 goals, notched three against the Rustlers, while Kedzie added a goal of her own. Goodall finished her final match of the season with nine big saves as the Pirates topped GWC in all three matchups this season.
