Women’s water polo conquered Golden West College 19 – 6 today during the Southern California Regional Championship quarter-finals.
Through early aggression and keeping the ball moving in the two meter zone, the Vikings were able to score six points in the first period. It wasn’t until the end of the period that GCW scored their first goal.
Many of the Vikings had various opportunities to score with six players scoring in the first half alone, some scoring several times.
Several of the goals that LBCC scored came when the goal was unguarded, with some happening back to back.
The goal was left vulnerable after a sudden change in possession with the goalie for GWC playing too far forward, which was punished almost every time with a ball to the back of the net.
When it became evident the game was out of reach after halftime, coach Chris Oeding of the Vikings was seen letting the team operate on its own while sitting back and watching.
The team never slowed down though, continuing to take shots at the goal all the way up to the final moments.
“We took it one game at a time to focus,” said Sydney Brauwer, “I really like just swimming and moving the ball by countering. I’d just make sure we had the ball where it needed to be and away from where it didn’t need to be.”
LBCC certainly did this as they constantly kept the ball near the goal when in possession and out of the four meter zone when defending most times.
“We went into this hoping to apply our game plan. We knew that we needed to limit their key offensive assets and build momentum to win,” coach Oeding said after speaking candidly with GWC coach Matt Flesher.
The Vikings will play Orange Coast College on Friday in the semi-finals at 9:45 a.m., a match which will certainly test LBCC.
“OCC is balanced and we’ve lost twice to them this season, they’re very dynamic and we’re going to have to build momentum early by taking away their main strengths. Their goalie is amazing for one,” said Oeding.
Orange Coast College is seeded at #2 while Long Beach City College is #3. OCC won the Orange Empire Conference much like LBCC won the South Coast Conference, meaning two conference championship teams will square off against each other in what is sure to be an epic match.