Seale nets 9 goals in 2 wins; No. 1 Vaqueros advance to WSC final

SBCC won two games on Thursday to advance to the championship game in the WSC Women's Water Polo Tournament at Cuesta in San Luis Obispo. The top-seeded Vaqueros beat No. 8 Santa Monica 11-4 and No. 5 Citrus 21-7.

Sophomore attacker Addison Seale tallied a season-high seven goals, four assists and four steals vs. Citrus and the 21 goals were also a season best. Gabrielle Ritter added a season-high six goals and Halie Johnson had three goals, four assists and four steals.

The Vaqueros (28-1, 9-0 WSC) won their fifth straight game. They'll be seeking their third straight conference title when they take on No. 2 Ventura on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Cuesta. Ventura topped Hancock 18-7 in the other semifinal.

Citrus (22-10, 5-4) came in hot with six straight wins and 11 of its last 12. The Vaqueros jumped ahead 6-2 after a quarter and 11-3 at the half. Seale scored three goals in the third period and SBCC stretched the lead to 17-4 lead on a goal by Ritter with 1:59 to go in the third quarter.

"It was a great day for our team," said coach Chuckie Roth. "We came together and played an amazing defensive and offensive game. Charissa Dorn was a highlight, starting in place of Ivanna Bilaver, who was sick. Dorn did a great job defending the 2-meter position.

"Freshman Natalie Beck played a fantastic first game and scored two goals in each game."

All-American goalie Mackenzie Richards stopped 10 shots in the semifinal and improved to 24-1 on the year.

The Vaqueros got two goals from five players in the opener and Johnson had a goal and four assists. Victoria Bruno (4-0) got the win in goal, stopping seven shots. Ivanna Bilaver, Gabrielle Ritter and Nicole Cosares didn't play vs. Santa Monica due to illness or injuries.

Santa Monica …..…... 1   1   2   0 --  4
SBCC ………….…......…. 4   4   0   3 -- 11
 Goals – SBCC: Seale 2, Carr 2, Talkin 2, Mroz 2, Beck 2, Johnson 1. Goalie saves – SB: Bruno 7.

Citrus ………….…..… 2   1   1   3 --   7
SBCC …….……..….…. 6   5   6   4 --  21
 Goals – SBCC: Seale 7, Ritter 6, Johnson 3, Carr 2, Beck 2, Mroz 1. Goalie saves – SB: Richards 10, Bruno 1.