Bobcats spook the field at Southwestern

The Saddleback men's water polo team broke out the brooms on Saturday by winning three times at the Southwestern Tournament in Chula Vista.  The Bobcats now have 24 wins on the season.

Saddleback has now tied for the third most wins in a season in program history after beating San Diego Mesa College, Cerritos College and Westcliff University on Saturday.  The Bobcats haunted the three opponents and have now won five straight heading into the Orange Empire Conference Tournament this next week.

Saddleback opened with a 14-9 win against Mesa, a program currently in second place in the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference.  The Bobcats darted out to an 8-1 lead in the second quarter before cruising to the win.  Luke Walters, Andrew Barnuevo, Jack Stevens, Jeffrey Hoss and Jackson Butler all scored two goals apiece while Jacob Idris played three quarters in goal to pick up the win.

Saddleback faced its toughest test in game two when they took on Cerritos College, a program currently in second place in the South Coast Conference.  The Bobcats never trailed in the game, taking a 4-1 lead at the half and making things rough for the Falcon offense.  Saddleback extended the lead to 9-4 early in the fourth quarter before Cerritos closed with a flurry of goals to make the score look more engaging at 10-8.  Jackson Butler, Andrew Barnuevo and Jack Stevens all led the Saddleback offense with two goals apiece.

Saddleback finished the day against a four-year school in Westcliff University.  The Bobcats controlled the game throughout, leading 5-0 after one quarter and 8-1 at the half.  Saddleback would eventually settle for a 17-10 win, improving to 3-0 against four-year schools for the year.  Jack Stevens had a big game, leading the Bobcats with five goals.

The third win of the day gave Saddleback 24 wins for the season, tying the 1987 and 1988 teams for the third most wins in a year.  Only the 1998 (28) and 1997 (26) teams had more wins in a season since the program began back in 1973. 

Saddleback will play in the Orange Empire Conference Tournament starting next Thursday at Orange Coast College.