The Santa Barbara City College women’s water polo team took three out of four games for the second straight weekend at the RCC Tournament, closing day two with a 15-7 win over Golden West after falling to tournament host Riverside by one goal, 14-13.
The Vaqueros (6-2) won their final game of the weekend behind a balanced scoring attack, as eight Vaqueros scored in the 15-7 win over Golden West.
SBCC’s Claire Daland and Natalie Mancinelli led the way with three goals each. It was Daland’s third three-goal effort of the year and Mancinelli’s second.
Daland scored twice in the first quarter to give SBCC a 4-2 lead heading into the second. Her third goal with 1:36 left in the half gave the Vaqueros a commanding five-goal lead at the break.
SBCC remained comfortably ahead the rest of the way, and Mancinelli put away all three of her goals in the second half as the Vaqueros ended the game on a 4-0 run.
Goalkeeper Ava Donleavy earned the win while recording five saves, an assist and a steal playing the first two quarters. Chloe McKay relieved her for the second half, tallying two saves and a steal.
Through eight games, SBCC has outscored opponents by eight or more goals five times.
SBCC lost its first game of the day to Riverside, which won 14-13.
The Vaqueros got out to a slow start and kept fighting back the whole way. They trailed 3-0 in the opening period, but would cut it to a one-score lead in the second, third and fourth quarters.
Freshman attacker Bella Straley played a huge part in keeping SBCC within striking distance, as she scored five times over the first three frames.
Sophomore Jenna Olson scored two goals once again, continuing her run as the only Vaquero to score multiple goals in every game she’s appeared in. She is also the first on the team to surpass the 20-goal mark, having scored 21 in seven games.
As a team, SBCC’s 123 goals and 15.38 goals per game average both rank second in the state.
This coming weekend, the Vaqueros are scheduled for four more games at the Mt. SAC Tournament from Sept. 23-24. They open on Friday against Santa Monica at 11:20 a.m.
Michael Jorgenson works in communications/media relations at Santa Barbara City College.
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