Pirates take second in OEC after loss to Rustlers
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Orange Coast (23-9, 5-2) | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 13 |
|
Golden West (31-2, 7-0) | 4 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 15 |
COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College men's water polo team hung tough with the best team in the state on Saturday as the Pirates came up just short to powerhouse Golden West, 15-13, in the finals of the Orange Empire Conference Water Polo Championships at the OCC Aquatics Pavilion.
The Pirates (23-9) trailed the Rustlers (30-2) by five after three quarters of play, 13-8, but came out strong in the fourth with goals by Ben Hecht, AJ Sexton and Jack McCann to cap off a 3-1 mini-run, pulling the Pirates to within three at 14-11.
Golden West, champions of the conference for 36 consecutive seasons, took advantage of a costly OCC penalty and scored with 2:59 remaining to make it a 15-11 lead.
But OCC fought back with back-to-back goals by McCann and Hecht to make it a 15-13 deficit with 1:27 remaining, but another late ejection by the Pirates allowed GWC to swim away the remaining time left on the clock.
Hecht and McCann each had three goals, with Hecht adding three assists for OCC. Stan Schuring tossed in a pair of goals, while Cade Zeilinger added a goal and two assists.
Goalie Gage Fojtasek kept OCC in the contest with 14 big saves against the eight-time defending state champion Rustlers.
Coast will head to Southwestern College for the 2025 Southern California Regional Championships, where they will take on Cypress College on Friday, beginning at 1:45 p.m.
