Bobcats pull off miracle on Marguerite

The Saddleback men's water polo team pulled out a thrilling 13-12 win over Orange Coast College on Wednesday inside the Saddleback Aquatics Center.  The Bobcats scored as time expired in the third overtime to win the opening game of Orange Empire Conference play.

The final goal was one of many challenges the Bobcats overcame on Wednesday.  Saddleback trailed by as many as four goals at one point during the third quarter before making a charge.  Down 12-11 in the closing seconds, the Bobcats forced a steal in the Pirate defensive end and netted the tying goal with only three seconds remaining on the clock to send the game to overtime.  In addition, the Bobcats had a short bench against OCC on Wednesday, with little to no options for bench players to spell the starters for a breather. 

Saddleback held Orange Coast scoreless for the final 10:53 of the game, battling through a couple of ejections and getting a number of saves from goalkeeper Ryan Ortiz.  The freshman from La Serna High School (Whittier) entered in the second half and played the final five periods, stifling the Pirates on a couple of penalty shots to keep the game alive. 

Saddleback's final tally of the game came as time expired when Donald Robertson squeaked one through on the right side of the net as the clock struck zero.  It was Robertson's fifth goal of the game, which tied him with Alec Isaacman for the team lead on the afternoon.  Isaacman had previously scored the final two goals in regulation after Saddleback had fallen behind 12-10 with under three minutes remaining.

Saddleback (5-1, 1-0) has the rest of the week off before hosting Riverside City College next Wednesday.  The Bobcats and Tigers are scheduled to start at 4:00 PM.