Pirate men earn third at OEC Water Polo Championships
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Orange Coast (,) | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 12 |
|
Riverside (,) | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 10 |
RIVERSIDE -- It was a weekend of ups and downs for the Orange Coast College men's water polo team, but in the end, the Pirates finished with a 12-10 win over Saddleback and a third-place finish at the 2022 Orange Empire Conference Water Polo Championships, hosted by Riverside City College.
In the opener, the No. 3 seeded Pirates had zero trouble with No. 6 Riverside, rolling past the Hornets, 26-1. An incredible SEVENTEEN different Pirates found the back of the net, led by Grant Busta with five goals. Jackson Bryson and Alexander Pezold each had a goal and four assists.
The win set up a semifinal matchup with No. 2 Saddleback and in the end, it was the Bobcats who prevailed, 13-11. Coast carried a 7-4 lead midway into the second quarter, but an 8-2 run by the Bobcats put Saddleback up, 12-9 early in the fourth quarter. Back-to-back goals by Dane Howell pushed the Pirates to within a goal with 5 minutes remaining, but the Saddleback defense kept Coast off the scoresheet the rest of the match.
Ethan Pranajaya led the OCC attack with five goals, while goalie Benjamin Matz recorded nine saves in the loss.
The setback pushed the Pirates into the third-place match against host Riverside, where OCC topped the Tigers, 12-10. In a back-and-forth battle, Coast used a mini 4-1 outburst to turn a tie game into a 7-4 OCC advantage. That run would keep the Pirates ahead for good as they matched any scoring chances with goals of their own and Matz (11 saves) did the rest from there.
Howell led the way with five goals, while Pranajaya tossed in four goals to preserve the win for Coast.
OCC will now head to the Southern California Regional Championships, hosted by Long Beach City College. There, the sixth-seeded Pirates (15-11) will take on the third-seeded and host school, LBCC (19-8) on Friday at 5:45 p.m.
