ORANGE COAST TAKES THE OEC CROWN

Championship: Orange Coast 19, Riverside 15

COSTA MESA – The Orange Coast College women's water polo team knocked the two-time defending champs off of the throne as the Pirates pulled out a 19-15 win over Riverside City College in the championship game of the Orange Empire Conference Women's Water Polo Championships on Saturday at the OCC Aquatics Pavilion.

A quartet of Pirates (24-8) – Hayden Clark, Emma Willis, Finley Munchoff and Brooke Kaltenbach – each scored four goals for OCC, who jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first two minutes of the game and never looked back.

From there, the Tigers (21-9) hung even with the host Pirates, but that early OCC run was enough to last through the rest of the match.

Angelina Beall led the Tigers with five goals, with Yosra Elseifi (four goals) and Presley Burrell (three goals) close behind Beall's total.

Third Place: Golden West 14, Saddleback 10

The Rustlers grabbed an early lead and never gave it up, leading Golden West to a third-place win over the Bobcats, 14-10.

Catherine Le paced the GWC offense with five goals, while Hanna Menyhard and Mimi Versegi each added three.

Sophia Banua led the way for the Bobcats with three goals, while Carlota Pereira tossed in two.

Fifth Place: Fullerton 18, Cypress 5

The Hornets scored early and often to secure a fifth-place win over the Chargers on Saturday at OCC.

Fullerton jumped out early scoring 10 of the first 13 goals of the first half and cruised from there.

Isabella Castaneda and Ava Spear each had five goals to lead the way for the Hornets, while Eliana Fernandez added four goals.

The Cypress offense was fueled by a four-goal performance from Jillian Van Gemert

*Story by Tony Altobelli, Orange Coast College
Photo by Adrian Salgado/Orange Coast College