Pirates go 2-1 at OCC mini-tournament
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
San Diego Mesa (12-6) | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
|
Orange Coast (15-4) | 2 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 21 |
COSTA MESA -- It was a long day in the pool for the Orange Coast College men's water polo team, but in the end, the Pirates went 2-1 on Friday, including wins over L.A. Valley (18-5) and San Diego Mesa, 21-10.
After an early-morning loss to Golden West in the opener, the Pirates (15-4) bounced right back with a convincing win over the Monarchs. A close battle turned into a blowout for the Pirates, who outscored LAVC 13-1 over the final 2 1/2 quarters of play and turned a 5-4 nail-biter into a rout.
Sawyer McCormick had a solid, all-around performance with four goals, an assist and five steals. AJ Sexton added two goals and seven assists, while Ben Hecht added two goals and three assists. The OCC defense was strong with 16 steals and a solid, 11-save effort from goalie Gage Fojtasek.
In the finale, it was another second-half shutdown for the Pirates as they held the Olympians (12-6) to just three goals in the second half, while outscoring them 12-3 over that span.
Cade Zeilinger and Jack McCann each had five goals for Coast, while Sexton and Stan Schuring each had two goals. Fojtasek wasn't quite as busy in this one, but still picked up the win with five saves.
Coast will return to Orange Empire Conference action on Wednesday at Cypress College, beginning at 3 p.m.
