Cats finish second at OEC Tournament

The Saddleback women's water polo team finished second at the Orange Empire Conference Tournament on Saturday at Golden West College after a 12-9 loss to Riverside City College.  The Bobcats played gamely with one of the best teams in the state.

Saddleback entered the game as heavy underdogs as Riverside had just three losses the entire season entering the game and defeated the Cats 19-8 in conference play 3.5 weeks earlier.  The Bobcats weren't going to let history get to them, playing the Tigers tight until the final whistle.

Saddleback trailed 6-3 early in the second quarter, but wasn't about to go away quitely.  The Bobcats outscored the Tigers 2-1 over the final 6:55 of the half, with Holliss Munchoff scoring a pair of goals in the quarter.

Riverside City scored the first three goals of the second half to take a 10-5 lead midway through the quarter.  The Bobcats were again resilient, scoring two of the final three goals of the quarter to close within 11-7. 

Down five in the fourth quarter, Saddleback had consecutive goals from Razann Kotarche and Gabrielle Pasillas to close within 12-9.  Unfortunately, both teams clamped down on defense the rest of the way as Riverside City held on for a three-goal win.

Munchoff finished with a team-high four goals for the game and now has a state-leading 128 for the season.

Saddleback is now 19-11 overall and finishes 5-3 in Orange Empire Conference play.  The Bobcats now await a playoff announcement, which is expected sometime on Sunday.