Pirates topple Tigers to reach OEC title matchup
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Riverside (14-9) | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
|
Orange Coast (18-3) | 1 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 13 |
COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College women's water polo team's incredible 2021 journey has reached the Orange Empire Conference championship match after the Pirates topped Riverside, 13-10, on Friday in the OEC semifinals.
The second-seeded Pirates (18-3) will take on top-seeded Fullerton (25-6) on Saturday at 3:10 p.m. with the conference title on the line. Fullerton is 2-0 against OCC, with wins coming on Sept. 11 (13-10) and Oct. 20 (11-6).
Friday's semifinals was a battle from the opening whistle as the No.3 Tigers (14-9) pushed OCC on every possession. The Tigers led 2-1 after the first quarter and 6-5 at the half before the Pirates found some offensive success in the third.
Rachel Sherman quickly tied things at 5 and after a Riverside goal put the Tigers back on top, consecutive goals by Kayla Yamamoto, Faith Cuevas and Kendall Chrisman over a two-minute span, pushed the Pirates in front, 8-6. It was a lead the hosts did not lose the rest of the afternoon.
Leading by one, Sherman scored in the final two minutes of the third and Cuevas found the back of the net early in the fourth to push OCC's lead up to three at 10-7. From there, both teams traded goals the rest of the period as the Pirates handed RCC their fourth head-to-head loss of the season.
Chrisman controlled things down near the Riverside goal for the Pirates and led the way with four goals, while Sherman finished with three goals and Cuevas with two. Single tallies were turned in by Yamamoto, Destiny Hernandez, Delaney Lewellyn and Ashley Bellavia.
In goal, AnnaBelle Sherman was fantastic with seven saves for the Pirates.
