Pirates go 3-1 at Long Beach tourney
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Orange Coast (,) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
|
Fullerton (,) | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 11 |
LONG BEACH -- The 2022 "Battle At The Beach" Water Polo Tournament was a success for the Orange Coast College women's water polo team, as the Pirates went 3-1 over the weekend against some of the top teams in the region.
The Pirates (21-3), ranked No. 3 in the state according to the CCCWPCA polls, opened things on Friday with a convincing 20-6 win over Cuesta College Destiny Hernandez led a well-balanced offensive attack with five goals and three assists, while Kendall Chrisman added three goals and Faith Cuevas and Elizabeth Wilkinson each tossed in two goals. The goalie tandem of Annabelle Sherman and Isabella Goodrow stopped a combined 10 shots to keep the Cougars far at bay.
Coast then took on No. 8 Saddleback (16-12) and used a strong start and finish en route to a 17-7 win over the conference-rival Bobcats. OCC jumped out to a 4-0 advantage and used a 5-1 run in the fourth quarter to preserve the win. Natalia Stanard controlled things near the goal and led the way with five goals, while Hernandez added four goals and Jillian Duwe contributed two. Sherman came up big for the Pirates with 20 saves in goal.
On Saturday, the Pirates had their work cut out for them as they opened with No. 5 Riverside and pulled out a 9-7 victory against the Tigers (17-7). Duwe was the top goal-getter for the Pirates with three, followed by two goals from Cuevas. Sherman was again strong in goal and posted 10 saves.
In the finale, the Pirates took on their toughest competition of the weekend as No. 2 Fullerton (22-2) took care of business with an 11-5 win over OCC. Cuevas had a pair of goals for OCC, while Stanard, Ana Nardelli, Viviana Euan each had one goal. Sherman posted 23 saves in the Pirate loss.
But OCC has a shot at redemption on Wednesday as the Pirates host the Hornets on Wednesday at the OCC Aquatics Pavilion for first place in the OEC standings, beginning at 3 p.m.
