OEC Water Polo Championships – Women (Day One): Fullerton & OCC Advance to Championship Showdown

The Fullerton College Hornets and the Orange Coast College Pirates will square off on Saturday to compete for an Orange Empire Conference (OEC) Championships after Fullerton won their lone game of the day, while the Pirates route was a bit more challenging.

The Pirates, who entered the championships as the fourth seed, needed to win two games in order to compete for the title. They did just that by taking down sixth-seeded Cypress, 16-7, followed by a nail-biting victory over second-seeded Riverside, 8-7.

It came down to the fourth quarter as Riverside and Orange Coast were going blow for blow, but the Pirates never surrendered the lead. Diana Hernandez sent home the deciding goal to hand the Pirates the win after four ties; three coming in the final frame.

Fullerton defeated fifth-ranked Golden West with ease after Golden West upset fourth-seeded Saddleback. Nikki Salerno led the team with five goals, while Jordyn Lughart fired home three goals.

The championship is set between the two juggernaut squads on Saturday, November 5 at 1:50 pm. Saddleback & Cypress will battle for fifth place at 8:30 a.m., while Golden West and Riverside will square off for the bronze at 11:10 p.m.

All game will be live streamed on Riverside Athletics YouTube channel and all information can be found at the OEC Tournament Page.

Release by Nicho DellaValle