DOMINIQUE SMITH|STAFF WRITER

Men’s water polo made a splash in the Cuesta tournament in San Luis Obispo on Sept. 20.

They played two games the first against West Valley College.

Despite the Tigers efforts West Valley got off to a fast start scoring 4 points early in the first quarter.

In the second quarter the team rallied back to score two points but was still challenged by the opposing teams defense. The tigers found themselves getting on the board, but still trailed behind the Eagles 6-2.

The Eagles eventually out played the Tigers with a score of 11-5 Christopher Forte scored two goals.

Kelly Stevens, Brody Wood, Jonathan Tapia each scored one goal.

The Tigers weren’t too discouraged in their second game of the Tournament.

Against L.A. Valley the boys brought a bit more heat to the pool.

Reese Verdayou scored five goals, Kelly Stevens, Forte, and Foster each scored three goals and the quick hands of Nicho Morbita made nine saves, taking the Tigers to a victory of 15-9.

Saturday’s game also brought a victory for the Tigers. Forte was on fire as he scored six goals.

The Tigers had a five point lead that the Beavers couldn’t chew their way back from.

The second quarter brought a completely opposite result as the score bored flip-flopped as the Beavers scored five goals.

The Tigers woke them self up in the third, bringing the score to 13-5, but in an intense shoot out the Tigers got the victory.

The game ended with RCC on top 17-10.

The Tigers finished the Tournament 3-1 having their only loss being to West Valley the previous day.

“We need to do better on our 6 on 5 composures, or passes need to be crisper, defensively also we’re giving up to many goals we need to put our mental focus on our defense,” Northcott said.“Our scoring is really good that’s something that will always be there our speed is pretty good and our awareness on the counter is really good.”

The team’s next game Oct. 3 against Orange Coast will be their fiercest match up yet.
“Our focus is going to be strong defense,” Northcutt said.

Northcott has been assistant coach for the Tigers for the last seven seasons, switching roles with former head coach Nate Hass at the beginning of the year.

He has high hopes as the team’s new head coach.

“We’ve been a successful team since I’ve been here, this is my eighth season here. We’ve had some success, been very competitive. I’d liked to maintain that and exceed it.”

The Tigers will host RCC tournament on Oct. 11 and 12.