Pirates hang on for 17-14 win over Chargers
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Cypress (5-2, 1-1) | 2 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 14 |
|
Orange Coast (5-2, 1-1) | 5 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 17 |
COSTA MESA -- The stat sheet was plenty full on Wednesday in several categories, but in the end, it was a hard-fought win for the Orange Coast College men's water polo team, who swam away with a 17-14 Orange Empire Conference win over visiting Cypress.
Cade Zeilinger led the Pirates (5-2, 1-1 in the OEC) with five goals, while Sawyer McCormick added three goals and dished out six assists. Carmelo Bangs added three goals, while Otis McAdams, Dylan Morris and Jason Honey each dropped in two goals. Sam Brooks collected five assists to further pace the OCC attack.
In goal, Roman Christenot notched nine saves, including a pair of 5-meter stops at crucial times of the contest.
Coast jumped out early on the Chargers (5-2, 1-1), grabbing a 5-1 lead before Cypress reeled off four straight goals to even things at 5 early in the second quarter. Both teams traded goals and with 3:47 left in the third quarter, both teams were in a 10-10 deadlock.
But, the Pirates closed out the quarter with a pair of goals from McAdams and single goals from Zeilinger and Honey to grab a 14-10 advantage, heading into the final quarter.
Cypress used a pair of goals from Porter Rosenlof to cut the deficit in half at 14-12, but back-to-back tallies by Zeilinger pushed the lead back out to four at 16-12.
Once again, the Chargers scored twice in a row to make it 16-14 with 2:19 left, but were held off of the scoresheet the rest of the contest. Bangs capped off the scoring with the final goal of the afternoon with 1:45 remaining.
This weekend, the Pirates will head up to the Mt. San Antonio College Tournament on Friday and Saturday. OCC's next home contest will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 25 against Whittier College, beginning at 7 p.m.
