Pirates topple Bobcats in OEC semifinals
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saddleback (22-13) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
|
Orange Coast (23-8) | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 13 |
COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College men's water polo team won each quarter and earned a trip to the conference finals with a 13-5 win over Saddleback at the 2025 Orange Empire Conference Men's Water Polo Championships on Thursday inside the OCC Aquatics Pavilion.
The Pirates (23-8, 5-1 in the OEC) will now face conference kingpin, Golden West (30-2, 6-0) in the finals on Saturday at 1:50 p.m.
Against the Bobcats (21-14, 4-3), Coast used a strong first half to grab a 9-3 lead and never look back.
Cade Zeilinger paced the Pirate attack with three goals and three assists, while Ben Hecht added three goals and two assists. Noah Sharp contributed a pair of goals and a pair of assists and Josh McCann tossed in a goal and added two assists.
In goal, Gage Fojtasek was solid for the Pirates with 12 saves.
For the Bobcats, Michael Adams and Jayden Rose each scored a pair of goals, while Callum Murphy had four assists.
