Riverside Reaches CCCAA SoCal Regional Championship, Punches State Playoff Ticket
The Riverside City College women's water polo team entered into the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Southern California Regional semifinal matchup seeking vengeance over the Orange Coast College Pirates. The Tigers most recent loss came against the Pirates in the Orange Empire Conference (OEC) Championship ballad just one week ago. Riverside muscled up on Saturday afternoon to defeat the Pirates by the final score of 9-6.
The victory sealed a CCCAA State Championship berth for the fifth consecutive year and the 13th in the last 15 years.
It was a tight strung contest in the early goes for both teams as they each traded a trio of goals in the opening eight minutes of action. However, the Tigers outscored the Pirates in each of the following frames en route to the win.
Freshman goalkeeper Hannah McCarley (Riverside, CA) was a dominant force between the posts by picking up her 24th victory on the season (24-3 overall). Her 12 saves kept the Tigers offense in a great position to climb ahead and hold a lead.
Freshman attacker Katy Peterson (Menifee, CA) was a thorn in the Pirates' side all game by recording a team-high four netters. She also dished out two assists and pocketed three steals on the defensive end.
Sophomore attacker Megan Upton (Corona, CA) surveyed the pool for four assists which bumps her season total to 61. She chipped in a score as well.
Freshman center Kate Fox (Murrieta, CA) held down the middle by humming home a pair of goals, while sophomore Josceline Godinez (Menifee, CA) fired home a goal and drew two ejections.
The Tigers (25-3, 5-1) will play in the championship game at 6 p.m. today.