Vaqueros edge Riverside 5-3, improve to 7-0

SBCC slipped past Riverside 5-3 on Saturday morning, then topped Cerritos 17-11 at the Riverside women's water polo tournament.

Emma Fraser tallied seven goals and finished with 16 in the two-day tourney. The Vaqueros went 4-0 and boosted their perfect record to 7-0.

SBCC 5, Riverside 3: The Vaqueros jumped out to a 4-1 first-quarter lead as two of the top teams in the state renewed their rivalry. Emma Fraser and Sarah Parson had two goals apiece and Parson notched three steals. SBCC is 4-4 against Riverside in the last three seasons and they've combined to win the last two State titles with Riverside beating SBCC 9-8 in double OT  in the 2016 final and the Vaqueros knocking off Sierra 8-6 in the 2017 title game.
 
SBCC 17, Cerritos 11: After falling behind 2-0, the Vaqueros took an 8-6 halftime lead on goals by Fraser and Tori Bray. The Falcons (5-4) got within a goal at 8-7, then SBCC erupted for eight goals in the third period, including six unanswered that stretched the lead to 14-7. Fraser scored four of her game-high five goals in the first half and Parson had three of her four scores in the third quarter. Bray and Kemi Dijkstra added two goals each and Dijkstra drew three ejections. Santa Barbara tied its season high by scoring 17 goals for the third time.

"The girls came together well as a team," noted coach Chuckie Roth. "Kemi Dijkstra played very well today along with some exceptional defense from Kelee Shimizu. And the highlight of the Cerritos game was Emma Kopp scoring the first goal of her water polo career. It was a great learning lesson and we look forward to a solid week of training."

The Vaqueros will play four games in the Mt. SAC Tournament on Friday and Saturday. They'll play two at Fullerton College on Friday, taking on San Diego Mesa at 10:20 a.m. and Fullerton at 3 p.m.