Tigers Defeat S.D. Mesa, Lose to No. 2 Long Beach in CCCAA South Regionals to Conclude Season
WALNUT -- Winning its playoff opener on Thursday (Nov. 12), but losing its quarterfinal game on Friday (Nov. 13), the Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers men's water polo team has seen its season come to an end in the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Southern California (SoCal) Regional Championship Tournament which was hosted t Mt. San Antonio College (MSAC) in Walnut.
Riverside (17-11 overall), which was seeded No. 7 seed in the SoCal Championships Tournament which began last Thursday (Nov. 12), defeated the No. 10-seeded San Diego Mesa College (SDMC) Olympians (20-6), 14-12 to open SoCal Regional tournament action before losing to No. 2 seed Long Beach City College (LBCC) Vikings (21-4 overall), 14-6, on Friday (Nov. 13). All South regional games are being hosted at MSAC.
SDMC was co-champion of the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference (PCAC) with a 7-1 mark. LBCC was the South Coast Conference (SCC) champion with an 8-0 record.
In the win over SDMC, RCC trailed, 4-2, at the end of the first quarter before regrouping and outscoring the Olympians, 5-0, in the second quarter. The Tigers led, 10-6, after three quarters. RCC sophomore captain Justin Rohn (San Bernardino / San Gorgonio HS '14) -- who is pictured -- led the Tigers with four goals, three assists and four steals.
Freshman driver Lazar Raca (Belgrade, SERBIA) added three goals, two assists and one steal. RCC freshman goalkeeper Dustin Shaw (Riverside / Martin Luther King, Jr. HS '15) had 13 saves.
In the CCCAA SoCal Championship quarterfinals, the Tigers ended the first quarter tied at 2, but were unable to get the offense going during the next two quarters, only scoring once in the second and third. LBCC led, 6-2, at halftime and 11-3 heading into the fourth quarter.
Against LBCC, the Tigers were led by Rohn with two goals, one assist, two drawn ejections and Raca added two goals, one assist and two steals Shaw had six saves against the Vikings..
The SoCal Regional playoffs continue through Saturday, Nov. 14, at MSAC.
Through three seasons (2013-15), RCC third-year head coach Jason Northcott is 34-37 overall.
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