Rustlers top Pirates for state championship
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Orange Coast (27-11, 5-2) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
|
Golden West (37-2, 7-0) | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 14 |
MERCED -- An incredible run for the Orange Coast College men's water polo team came up one win short as rival Golden West College maintained its spot on top of the mountain with a 14-6 win over the Pirates in the 3C2A Men's Water Polo State Championships on Saturday at Merced College.
The Pirates (27-11) were back at the championship game for the first time in over 50 years, but the nine-time defending state champion Rustlers (37-2) were not about to give up the top spot to their conference rivals.
"We didn't get the result we wanted today in the championship game, but we gained valuable experience and hope to use it to keep growing the program in the future," OCC head coach Dan Matulis said. "I'm proud of our program and I'm grateful for all of the players that have put so much into our program."
Sawyer McCormick and Cade Zeilinger each scored a pair of goals for the Pirates, while single tallies were thrown in by Dylan Morris and Otis McAdams.
Zeilinger's first goal came midway through the first quarter, keeping OCC close at 2-1. But five unanswered goals by the Rustlers gave the defending champs all the room they would need to hang on from there.
Coast ended the state finals still swinging, with McCormick and Zeilinger scoring the final two goals of the game for either side.
The loss on Saturday does not take anything away from a remarkable 2025 campaign for the Pirates, which included a long playoff run that ended in a state championship opportunity for the first time in over a half a century. The brightest highlight of the season came in the state semifinals, where OCC stunned West Valley College, 11-10 to earn the spot in the title game with the Rustlers.
