By Nicholas Peralta
Riverside City College women’s water polo season forges on.
On Saturday, Nov. 11, the Tigers entered into the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Southern California Regional semifinal matchup looking for vengeance over the Orange Coast College Pirates.
The Tigers’ most recent loss came against the Pirates in the Orange Empire Conference (OEC) Championship ballad a week prior on Nov. 4. RCC would retaliate that afternoon beating the Pirates in a hectic matchup 9-6.
The victory sealed a CCCAA State Championship berth for the fifth consecutive year and the thirteenth time in the last 15 years.
It was a tight strung contest early in the game as they each traded a trio of goals in the opening eight minutes of the game. Regardless, the Tigers were able to outscore the Pirates in each quarter of the game en route to victory.
Freshman attacker Katy Peterson was a thorn in the Pirates’ side all game by recording a team-high four goals. She also dished out two assists and pocketed three steals defensively. Freshman center Kate Fox held down the middle field, scoring a pair of goals, while sophomore Josceline Godinez fired home a goal and drew two ejections.
Freshman goalkeeper Hannah McCarley was in dominant form between the posts, contributing heavily to her team’s 24th victory of the season. Her 12 saves kept the Tigers offense in a great position to climb ahead and hold a lead.
Later that evening, the Tigers met Santa Barbara City College in the Southern California Regional Finals.
After a rough first half of the game, RCC had given up a 4-1 lead, forcing an offensive initiative going into the third quarter. Fox and freshman scorer Nikkol Webber were able to score two goals while McCarley managed to shut out Santa Barbara.
However, in the fourth and final frame, Santa Barbara scored twice more against Fox’s lone goal. The game ended 6-4 for with the Tigers losing the Regional Championship game.
Despite the loss, head coach Doug Finfrock doesn’t believe his team’s chances have diminished any as the Tigers continue on to the CCCAA State Championship.
“This year I think anybody is touchable,” said Finfrock. “I don’t think anybody is great. I thought we actually played a good game. We just made a couple mistakes that cost us a couple goals and that was the difference in this game.”
The teams first game in the State Championship will be against Sierra College on Nov. 17 in the opening round of the tournament.
