Vaqueros take second in Battle at the Beach

No. 2 Riverside scored three goals in overtime on Saturday to hand No. 1 SBCC its first loss 10-7 and claim the championship of the prestigious Battle at the Beach women's water polo tournament at Cerritos College.

The Vaqueros (22-1) trailed 7-5 in the fourth period before Addison Seale scored with 2:41 to play and Ivanna Bilaver tied it 7-7 on an assist by Gabrielle Ritter with 45 seconds left. Riverside improved to 24-1 with its only loss coming to Santa Barbara by a 14-12 count on Oct. 1.

Bilaver and Gabi Ritter scored two goals apiece. Emily Martin scored four for the Tigers, including two goals in the two overtime periods.

"Riverside came out really energized and we struggled in the first half," said coach Chuckie Roth, whose team trailed at halftime (4-2) for the first time this season. "We made some adjustments at halftime but we never could get the lead.

"This game was a great learning experience and in my entire coaching career, it might be the first time I've been okay with a loss. Our goal was never to go undefeated and this loss will give us motivation and perspective. We're still focused on the process and achieving our year-end results."

On Saturday morning, the Vaqueros topped Fullerton 12-9 in the semifinals behind four goals from Bilaver and three by Kendra Carr. Addison Seale notched a season-high seven assists and has 19 in her last four games. Seale leads the state with 78 assists.

Ritter added two goals, three assists and five steals for the Vaqueros, who beat the Hornets (17-7) for the third time this year. Fullerton leads the state in scoring offense (15.6 per game) and SBCC held them six goals under their average.

SBCC will host its final four regular-season games in the Halloween Tournament at Santa Barbara High next weekend. They'll take on Southwestern (4:40 p.m.) and Hancock (5:50 p.m.) on Friday, then play Saddleback (10:15 a.m.) and L.A. Pierce (12:45 p.m.) on Saturday.

The Hancock and L.A. Pierce games are WSC contests and the Vaqueros (5-0) are shooting for their third straight title.

Fullerton ……..…... 3   2   2   2 --  9
SBCC ………….....…. 4   4   2   2 -- 12
 Goals – SB: Bilaver 4, Carr 3, Ritter 2, Johnson 1, Seale 1, Cosares 1. Goalie saves – SB: Richards 7.

Riverside ………..… 3  1  1   2  2  1 -- 10
SBCC …….……....…. 2  0   2   3  0  0 --  7
 Goals – SB: Bilaver 2, Ritter 2, Seale 1, Johnson 1, Carr 1. Goalie saves – SB: Richards 6.