Pirates come up just short against Tigers
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Riverside (,) | 2 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 11 |
|
Orange Coast (,) | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
COSTA MESA -- Despite a stellar performance from goalie Ella Walker, the Orange Coast College women's water polo team just couldn't find enough offense against powerhouse Riverside City College as the Pirates fell to the Tigers, 11-7, on Wednesday at the OCC Aquatics Pavilion.
The Tigers (9-1, 2-0 in the Orange Empire Conference) peppered Walker early and often and the freshman standout was up to the challenge. Coast (6-4, 1-1) was outshot 20-5 in the first half but thanks to the wall-like effort of Walker, Coast only trailed 6-2 at the break.
After ending the first half with a buzzer-beater goal from Brooke Baze, Coast jumped back in the pool and scored again, courtesy of a Ana Nardelli goal, bringing the Pirates to within three (6-3) against the state's No. 2-ranked team.
But the Tigers showed WHY they are one of the top teams in California and used their relentless defense to keep OCC at bay the rest of the afternoon and grabbed an 11-4 lead early in the fourth. Coast continued to show fight with three unanswered goals in the fourth, but the Pirates would not get any closer.
Walker finished with 20 saves and four steals for OCC. Baze led the Pirate offense with four goals, while Nardelli added two and Lyric Roddenberry tossed in a solo goal.
OCC will head to Huntington Beach this weekend and compete at the Golden West Tournament, beginning on Friday against Diablo Valley, beginning at 9 a.m.
