RIVERSIDE, CA – The Santa Barbara City College Women's Water Polo team once again won all four of their games this weekend at the Riverside City College Tournament. They defeated Citrus 12-8 then Orange Coast 11-5 on Friday, while beating Riverside and Golden West 11-10 and 16-7 on Saturday, respectively.
"We worked through some adversity and moments of great connection along with some areas for growth," head Coach Chuckie Roth said of the weekend. "We have definitely grown from last week."
Bad news for opponents—SBCC went 4-0 last week!
In game 1 Friday against Citrus, the Vaqueros first conference matchup of the year, SBCC came out swinging by scoring 6 goals in the first quarter. From there, it was pretty much all Vaqueros as they took a 12-3 early in the fourth quarter, eventually winning 12-8.
Esther Sullivan led the way with 3 goals, while Gabrielle Muehring and Claire Daland each tallied 3 steals apiece.
Game 2 against Orange Coast had a different momentum, though. The last time these two programs played, the Vaqueros beat Orange Coast 10-7 in the 2022 CCCAA Championship Game, after losing to OCC the previous week in the SoCal Regionals Championship Game, 10-9.
SBCC trailed 4-2 at the end of the first quarter and led 6-5 at halftime—a scoreless third quarter for both teams kept it a 1-goal lead for the Vaqueros heading into the fourth.
The Vaqueros then came alive with 5 goals in the final frame, 2 from Caroline Oates and 2 from Addie Lane, who led the team with 4 on the day. Freshman goalie Kate Densmore simultaneously blanked Orange Coast to leave the final score 11-5.
Claire Daland scored 2 goals and had another great defensive showing with 4 steals. Top goal scorer Addie Lane also had 4 steals, and Lily Carrick led the team with 5.
"We had a great day today," Roth said. "The team really stepped up with a lot of depth. Cate Daland had a big goal [at the start of the fourth quarter against Orange Coast], showing improvement in each contest."
The first game of day 2 was no letdown, as SBCC faced Riverside in their home pool. Although Riverside never had a lead, the Vaqueros never held more than a 3-goal lead, themselves.
Heading into the fourth quarter up 10-7, just one goal from Addie Lane was all that was needed to thwart the Riverside comeback as the Vaqueros won 11-10. Lane had another 3+ goalscoring game along with 2 steals and 2 assists.
Claire and Cate Daland added 2 goals each, with Claire tallying 5 exclusions drawn.
"We are much better defensively [than last week]," Roth noted. "Leading the foundation on defense is Claire Daland. She is a great center defender who did a great job on Riverside's leading scorer and center."
The second game Saturday was all Vaqueros, beating Golden West 16-7 and outscoring the opponent in every quarter.
"Freshman Maddie Myers is improving every day. She connected with Lane for a very impressive 6/5 goal in the Golden West game and went on to score 3 goals in the contest," Roth said. "Lily Carrick also played two stellar games with over 5 crucial steals and 3 goals."
Carrick had a 3-steal, 2-assist performance against Riverside and followed that up with 3 goals, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 3 exclusions drawn against Golden West. Natalie Mancinelli also contributed with 2 goals and Sofia Paez led the team with 4 steals.
Kate Densmore amassed 29 saves over the 4 games, including 10 against Riverside and 12 against Golden West. The freshman has proven to be a strong force in goal for the Vaqueros in her first year.
Sweeping another 4-game weekend, the defending CCCAA champion Vaqueros have started the 2023 season 8-0.
"Our girls are doing a great job playing as a team. No one cares who gets the credit as long as the job gets done," Roth concluded.
SBCC travels to Mt. San Antonio College next weekend for the 2023 Mountie Classic. They play Santa Monica in a conference matchup followed by Sierra on Friday, then West Valley and San Joaquin Delta on Saturday.
