Champs

Glendora, CA — It wouldn't be easy, but the Citrus College Men's Water Polo team made a statement on Saturday afternoon. The Owls opened up the day with a 20-3 win over San Diego Mesa, before making a big second half comeback against Fullerton College later in the day. The comeback crowned Citrus as the champions of their home hosted tournament as they won 10-8. 

 The Owls couldn't have asked for a better start to their day on Saturday, as they cruised to the 17 point win. Citrus went up 5-1 after the first and then stretched their lead even further in the second, going into halftime leading 12-2. The second half was never in doubt, but the Citrus defense didn't let up as they surrendered just one goal over the final 16 minutes to the Olympians.

Three Owls had a trio of goals in the win. Sophomores Charles Ortega and Jessie Iniquez, along with freshman Jonathan Lotero all had three goals each. Lotero also recorded four assists in the win, while Ortega added five steals. Freshman Drake Santos continued to impress in goal, stopping 10 of the 13 shots he faced.

After the big win in the morning, Citrus took on Fullerton College, who was the only other undefeated team in the tournament through three games. The Hornets came into the game and more or less punched Citrus in the mouth, taking a 2-1 lead after one and going into halftime up 5-2. It was the fewest amount of goals the Owls had been held too on the weekend, and the first time they had trailed.

Citrus responded in a big way though, as Lotero keyed the big comeback scoring the first two goals of the second half to pull within one. After getting a stop on defense, Citrus' next possession would prove tricky. Sophomore Eugene Lee would score after back to back attempts by the Owls hit the post. The goal would be waved off though, as the officials rightly ruled that the ejected Fullerton play hadn't been allowed back into play in enough time. Citrus retained possession and scored again finally tying the game up thanks to a score from freshman Robert Renteria.

A few minutes later, Lotero would give the Owls their first lead of the game with yet another score. Before the third was up, freshman William Martinez got in on the action with a score from way above the 5M are to make it 7-5. When it was all said and done, the Owls outscored Fullerton 5-0 in the third period as they took the game back over.

In the fourth Citrus continued to extend their lead, scoring the first two goals of the fourth. With a little more than two minutes to play, and their lead up to five, Citrus pulled their starters. Fullerton promptly scored three goals, but their comeback attempt was too little too late, as the Owls went on to win by two.

In the win, Lotero proved to the difference maker scoring half of the Owls goals. Martinez and Renteria both added two, while Martinez also had three assists. Santos again proved his worth in the cage, stopped 15 of the Hornets shots on the game.

With the two wins, Citrus' record moves to 6-1 on the year, their best start in quite some time. The Owls will try to keep it going next weekend, when they take part in the Mt. San Antonio College Tournament beginning Friday.