Bobcats pounce on Pirates

The Saddleback men's water polo team defeated Orange Coast College, 17-5, on Wednesday in Costa Mesa.  The Bobcats scored seven straight goals to finish off the Pirates.

Saddleback trailed in the early goings as OCC netted the first goal of the game in the opening minute.  The Bobcats answered with three straight goals of their own and never trailed again.

Andrew Barnuevo (pictured) scored five times in the opening half as Saddleback carried an 8-3 lead into the intermission.  Orange Coast answered with a goal to start the third quarter, but never got closer the rest of the game as the Bobcats held the Pirates to only one goal over the final 13+ minutes.  Saddleback finished with a flurry of goals, outscoring Orange Coast 7-0 over the final 9:41 of play. 

Dylan Gallegos iced the game in the final quarter, scoring three goals over a span of 3:12.  Gallegos and Barnuevo both finished with a team-leading five goals on the afternoon.

Saddleback improved to 13-3 overall and 3-1 in Orange Empire Conference play with the win.  The Bobcats will play next in the Cuesta Invitational on Friday and Saturday in San Luis Obispo.  Saddleback has three games scheduled for Friday, starting at 8:15 AM when they face Sierra College.