Jessica Diaz tossed a perfect lob from seven meters with two seconds left on Saturday morning to lift San Joaquin Delta to an 8-7 win over SBCC in the third-place game of the CCCAA Women's Water Polo State Championships at West Valley College in Saratoga.
The Vaqueros (30-5) lost their third straight game and finished fourth in the state, one year after capturing their first title. The Mustangs (21-11) avenged a loss to the Vaqueros in last year's state semifinals and two losses earlier this year.
With time running out, Leti Mosqueda passed to Diaz on the left side. Diaz threw a high-arching lob that went over the head of goalie Nicole Poulos and into the lower right corner. The Vaqueros called timeout and got a good look at a game-tying goal as Poulos threw a long pass to Tori Bray and she slapped it off the crossbar as time expired.
"I am proud of the character of our team," said coach Chuckie Roth, who's led his team to three straight Final 4 appearances. "Unfortunately this weekend was not the Cinderella season we worked for, rather it was a hard lesson in life."
Seven Vaqueros scored a goal apiece in a tight, exciting contest that had seven ties and four lead changes. Emma Fraser scored on a 5-meter shot with 1:53 to go in the second quarter to tie it 2-2 at the half.
Fraser finished as the top scorer in the state and set school records for single-season scoring (123 goals) and career scoring (209). She also led the Vaqueros in assists with 37.
Kemi Dijkstra gave the Vaqueros a 5-4 lead on a power-play goal with 1:09 left in the third period. Santa Barbara fell behind 6-5, then tied it at 6-all on a goal by Alyssa Russell-Sadoff. Russell-Sadoff had a goal, two assists and three steals. Diaz put the Mustangs up 7-6 on a 5-meter penalty shot with 3:40 to go.
Once again, the Vaqueros tied things up, 7-7, when Shimizu threw a cross-pool pass to Bray for a 6-on-5 goal with 2:16 remaining.
Mustang goalie Tahlia Pou made two huge stops on Vaquero shots by Dijkstra (1:41 to go) and Hana Wigzell (1:02).
Melisa Walk played the first two quarters in goal for the Vaqueros, recording five saves. Poulos (20-5) played the second half and had four saves.
The Vaqueros won 30 games for the third straight season under the direction of Roth. They're 94-10 the last three seasons with a state runner-up finish in 2016, a state championship in 2017 and fourth place this year.
"We worked hard and did everything right but this weekend was not our best," Roth added. "Sometimes that happens but that's why we play sports – sometimes you make mistakes and fail and then you get right back up again.
"This is an amazing group and they will move on to new challenges where I hope they are more prepared when adversity comes. I will really miss these girls, they remind me daily of how special this process is."
