Vaqueros rally for two comeback wins, improve to 11-0

SBCC staged a pair of comeback wins on Saturday on the final day of the Mt. SAC women's water polo tournament in Walnut. The Vaqueros downed Long Beach for the second time this year, 13-10, and outlasted Saddleback in a wild 19-17 triumph.

Sophomore utility Emma Fraser tied her career high with six goals in each game. The Vaqueros are off to an 11-0 start and have won 23 straight, dating back to Oct. 21 of last year.

SBCC 13, Long Beach 10: The Vikings (4-4) led 2-1 after one quarter. Fraser scored two goals each in the second, third and fourth periods. She scored the first two in the third period to snap a 5-5 halftime tie and Meagan Mckillican added a power-play tally for an 8-5 lead. Mckillican had three goals and Sarah Parson added two for the Vaqueros, who were 6-for-8 on power plays. Nicole Poulos made eight saves and improved to 6-0.
 
SBCC 19, Saddleback 17: This was a wild one with 13 combined goals in the second quarter and 36 for the game. The Vaqueros won the second period 7-6 and led 11-9 at the half. Alison Eichelberger poured in 10 goals for Saddleback (7-5). Sharai Hernandez gave the Gauchos an 8-7 lead late in the second quarter. Then the Vaqueros went on a 9-2 burst with Fraser scoring three straight for a 13-9 lead. Fraser got her sixth goal with 3:15 to go in the third, boosting the lead to 16-10.

Fraser, last year's state tournament MVP, has scored a career-high six goals six times over the last two years. She had 20 goals as the Vaqueros went 4-0 in the two-day Mt. SAC Tourney and leads the team with 42 goals in 11 games.

"I was proud of the team for two come-from-behind wins," said coach Chuckie Roth. "During the Long Beach game, I think we played some of our best water polo of the year. Meagan Mckillican had two very important goals and Erika Meuhring had great supporting defense. Lily (spark plug) Riley also had three pivotal goals in the Saddleback game."

The Vaqueros will open WSC play on Wednesday against Ventura at the Ventura Aquatic Center at 2 p.m. Santa Barbara has won four straight WSC titles and has a 24-game win streak in conference.