Golden West Outlast Orange Coast for Fourth OEC Win

Huntington Beach, Calif. - Golden West men's water polo  (16-3, 4-0 OEC) battled Orange Coast College (14-7. 2-2 OEC) for fourth conference victory, 11-6.

The Rustlers welcomed both men's and women's water polo programs for a conference double-header. Golden West men's squad faced off against the Pirates first as both teams brought strong defenses. The home led after the first quarter but only by a slim margin, 2-1. By halftime, OCC was behind two goals in a 4-2 deficit. 

In the third quarter, the Rustlers did their best to separate themselves from the Pirates as Golden West took a five goal lead into the final eight minutes. OCC made a small push to come back, but was outscored by the home team as Golden West earned the win. The Rustlers finished the game with their fourth Orange Empire Conference victory to stay unbeaten in the conference. 

Itay Roth scored the most goals for the home team's offense with three off of six shots with a steal and an assist. Mason Merritt made his minimal opportunities count as he scored two goals from four shots and stole the ball once. Pablo Souza was stellar in net as he saved 11 shots from the Pirates offense. 

NEXT UP: Golden West is set to continue their conference schedule at home against Saddleback on Wednesday, October 18th. The match will begin at 2:30pm.