Bobcats pick up big non-conference win

The Saddleback men's water polo team defeated Cerritos College, 17-13, on Friday afternoon at the Saddleback Aquatics Center.  The Bobcats are four games above .500 heading into the Orange Empire Conference Tournament.

Saddleback has been red hot as of late, winning nine of its last 10 games and beating some good teams along the way.  The latest was a 17-13 win against Cerritos, a team ranked No. 8 in the latest state rankings.

Saddleback and Cerritos swapped goals over the first quarter as the Bobcats held a 5-4 advantage over the first eight minutes.  Saddleback finally got its first two-goal advantage to start the second quarter when Oliver Child connected for his third goal of the game and a 6-5 lead with 7:07 left in the half.  The Bobcats extended the lead to 9-6 by halftime, with Child scoring two more goals.

Saddleback opened up its biggest lead of the game towards the end of the third quarter when Mathew Arellano scored his only goal of the game for a 13-8 advantage with 39 seconds remaining.  The Bobcats would cruise across the finish line with a 17-13 victory.

Child finished with a team-high six goals for the game.  Samuel van Benten played the entire game in goal for the Bobcats.

Saddleback has now defeated three of the top eight teams in the state over the past week.  The lone loss was a setback against No. 2 Golden West in the finals of the Golden West Invitational.

Saddleback will play next in the Orange Empire Conference Tournament on Friday.  The Bobcats open with Riverside City College on Friday at Golden West.