Pirates split the weekend at Riverside Tournament
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Long Beach (,) | 5 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 16 |
|
Orange Coast (,) | 4 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 14 |
RIVERSIDE -- The Orange Coast College men's water polo team went 2-2 over the weekend at the Riverside City College Tournament with wins against Citrus (23-8) and Cerritos (10-8) on Friday, followed by losses to L.A. Valley (9-6) and Long Beach (16-14) on Saturday.
On Friday, Coast (9-7) rolled over the Owls in the tourney opener. OCC ripped off 18 first-half goals and cruised to victory from there. The offense was spread around with EIGHT different Pirates -- Matthew Grudichak, Mason Parker, Aiden Morris, Grant Busta, Julian-Cassel-Cornet, Kendrick Griffith, Trenton Toma and Jacob Muller -- scoring two goals each. In goal, Ethan Harris and Henry Szczuka had a combined 11 saves.
In the afternoon matchup against the Falcons (15-5), both teams went back and forth with goals, but in the third quarter, Coast picked up a little breathing room with a 3-1 outburst to grab an 8-5 advantage. Ethan Rose, Jackson Bryson and Grudichak found the back of the net during that run, a run that gave Coast the lead for good the rest of the way. Muller and Ryan O'Donovan picked up clutch goals for the Pirates in the fourth quarter to preserve the win, while Benjamin Matz came up with 14 big saves to keep OCC ahead against one of the top teams in Southern California.
On Saturday, Coast found the offense a bit harder to come by as the Pirates fell to L.A. Valley, 9-6, in their opening game of the day. Ethan Pranajaya had two goals for Coast, while Dane Howell, Bryson, Cassel-Cornet and Grusichak each added one.
In the nightcap against the always-tough LBCC Vikings, OCC carried a 12-8 lead into the fourth quarter, only to see Long Beach battle back, tie the score with one second remaining and prevail in overtime.
Pranajaya had five goals to lead the Pirate offense, while Grudichak and Muller each added two. Matz picked up 11 saves in a gritty effort.
Coast will return home on Wednesday for an Orange Empire Conference matchup against Cypress College, beginning at 4 p.m.
