WALNUT, Calif. – The SBCC women's water polo team went a perfect 2-0 on day one of the Mt. SAC Tournament, defeating Fullerton in a close one 8-7 before taking down the tournament hosts 11-6 later in the day.
Now on their second four-game win streak of the young season, the Vaqueros find themselves with a 9-2 overall, 1-0 conference record.
SBCC vs. Fullerton
In what turned out to be one of the most exciting back-and-forth games so far this year, Santa Barbara needed a late winner from sophomore Jenna Olson to take down Fullerton 8-7.
"This is a gritty team. I am proud of them," head coach Chuckie Roth said. "At multiple points, we were down and had to fight back for the lead. They found a way to dig deep and finish the game."
While Olson's second score of the day proved to be the decisive goal, it was freshman Charlize Winter who led the offense with her second four-goal performance of 2021.
With SBCC trailing by a goal early in the final frame, Winter tied things up at 6-6 while securing her hat trick. Soon after that, she put away her fourth goal to put the Vaqueros up 7-6 with 4:04 remaining in the fourth.
Fullerton found an equalizer heading into the final two minutes. However, with 1:34 left, Olson scored an unassisted goal to avoid overtime and seal the Vaquero win.
Olson also had a big impact on the defensive end, leading the team with four steals. Allison Kay finished with three steals and also added one goal. Goalkeeper Chloe Mckay recorded eight saves defending the cage.
Freshman driver Eden Tal also found the scoresheet with a goal to go along with two assists. Emily Lopez matched her with a team-high two assists.
SBCC originally jumped out to a 4-1 lead, with first quarter goals coming from four different Vaqueros. Fullerton answered with four straight goals to take their first lead midway through the third.
SBCC improves to a 2-1 record in games decided by one goal.
SBCC vs. Mt. SAC
The second game of the day was not quite as close, as SBCC jumped out to an early 4-0 lead and never looked back on the way to an 11-6 win.
Three goals from freshman utility Megan Ditlof led the way for the Vaquero offense. Jenna Olson, Emily Lopez and Angelina Adams all scored twice.
"Ditlof had a great day. Allison Kay was solid all-around for us today," Roth said. "We had 22 total steals in this game. It was a great defensive performance."
Kay finished with a team-high four steals and two assists. Chloe Mckay finished with three saves and a pair of steals.
SBCC's lead grew to as large as seven goals when Adams scored off an assist from Kara Hughes to make it 11-4 in the opening minutes of the fourth. Hughes finished with a Vaquero-high three assists.
Emily Clapham and Aaliyah Gavia rounded out the SBCC scoresheet with a goal apiece.
Next Up
On Saturday morning, the Vaqueros will face West Valley (9 am) and Long Beach (11:20 am) in their final contests ahead of their conference opener.
