No. 6 Women’s Water Polo Cruises to Second Conference Victory

The Riverside City College women's water polo team looked to push their winning streak to four games and stay undefeated in Orange Empire Conference (OEC) action on Wednesday afternoon. They hit the road to face off against the Saddleback College Bobcats and saw themselves in an early battle, but stepped on the gas pedal and cruised by with a commanding 12-5 win.

It was a tight game with the first quarter ending in a three-all tie, but the Tigers quickly captured the momentum in the following quarter. Sophomore Lauren Nelson fired home an early score to kick off the melee, backed by a netter from sophomore Amber Nielsen leading to a two score advantage. Sophomore Taylor Mason closed the first half with consecutive goals to give Riverside a four score leading into halftime.

From then on, it was all Riverside. After the Tiger's defense blanked the Bobcats in the second frame, it was déjà vu for the home team as Riverside copy and pasted their defensive showing into the third quarter by handing them another goose egg. Mason was responsible for the only two goals in the third quarter.

The Tigers went on to handle the Bobcats in the final frame with scores from freshman Jessie Nelson, Nielsen and Mason leading to the win.

Mason tied her season-highs with five goals and three steals.  She has now scored in nine-consecutive games and scored five goals in three contests. Nielsen continued her hot play and hummed home three goals accompanied by an assist and two steals.

L. Nelson was an overall contributor with two goals, three assists and two steals, while J. Nelson paced the team with four steals and a score.

Sophomore Gabriella Fisher earned her sixth win of the season after hauling in five saves while going the distance in the pipes.