Sophomores provide good sendoff

The Saddleback men's water polo team picked up a win on Wednesday with a 21-7 win over Riverside City College inside the Saddleback Aquatics Center.  Sophomores Morgan Lee and Jayden Rose were big contributors in the win.

Saddleback started the day by honoring its two sophomores, Lee and Rose, as they were playing their last home game at Saddleback before road tournaments and playoffs.  It was only fitting that the duo would score the final two goals of the game to cap off the home schedule.

Saddleback started slowly but had a 3-2 lead after the opening quarter as Rose, Callum Murphy and Jack Rickerson all scored solo goals in the opening frame.  The Bobcats then scored four straight goals to open the second quarter, thus putting Riverside City in a big hole.

Saddleback put the game on ice in the third quarter when it outscored RCC 6-2 in taking a 14-5 lead into the final quarter.  Michael Adams had three goals in the quarter before Lee finished off the scoring.

The fourth quarter belonged to Rose, who scored three goals in the final eight minutes as Saddleback stretched the lead to 14.  Fittingly, Lee scored with 52 seconds remaining and Rose with 25 seconds remaining as the two sophomores put the finishing touches on a dominating performance.

Adams finished with a team-high six goals in the game while Murphy added five.  Rose would finish with four goals while Lee had two.

Saddleback is now 18-11 overall and 3-2 in Orange Empire Conference (OEC).  The Bobcats will play in the Southwestern College Tournament this Friday and Saturday in Chula Vista before the OEC Tournament next week.  Saddleback opens the tournament on Friday against San Diego Mesa College at 10:15 AM at Southwestern College.