Cats open OEC play with win

The Saddleback women's water polo team opened Orange Empire Conference (OEC) play with a 21-5 win against Cypress College on Wednesday afternoon inside the Saddleback Aquatics Center.  The Bobcats are now above .500 for the first time since the opening game of the season.

Saddleback has started to get on a roll, winning its fourth straight game on Wednesday.  The Bobcats led 3-2 after the opening quarter before cruising to a big win over Cypress.  Saddleback scored 18 of the last 21 goals, opening up a 17-goal lead at one point.

Sophia Banua led Saddleback with five goals in the game while Lily Padilla (pictured) and Hannah Goering added four goals apiece.  The Bobcats put the game out of reach when they scored six goals in the final in the final 3:13 of the second quarter to pull ahead of Cypress 13-2 at the intermission. 

Saddleback's defense was tough, holding Cypress scoreless for over 11.5 minutes while building up the lead. 

Saddleback is now 8-7 overall and 1-0 in OEC play.  The Bobcats will play again on Wednesday at Orange Coast.  Saddleback and OCC are scheduled to start at 4:15 in Costa Mesa.