Owls Edge Saddleback but Falter Against Palomar in Mt. SAC Tourney Openers

Glendora, CA – Staying on their home deck where they were 5-0 to start the year, the Citrus College Men's Water Polo team opened up the Mt. SAC Tournament in Glendora by edging Saddleback College. The Owls weren't so lucky later in the afternoon however as Palomar College used a big second quarter to sink the Owls 20-18.

In the opening tilt with Saddleback things were tight from the jump. Saddleback scored the game's first goal, only to watch as Citrus scored the next two to take their first lead of the game. The Gauchos would jump back out in front 4-3 in the final two minutes of the first, but a strike by sophomore Daniel Velazquez with nine seconds left in the first left the game tied at four goals each after one.

Velazquez would open the second by giving Citrus back the lead 5-4 on the Owls' first possession and Citrus never looked back. That didn't mean the Gauchos made it easy as they tied the game up four more times between the 6:10 mark in the second quarter and the 6:17 mark in the third when Saddlbeack tied the game back up at 10-10.

Citrus would go on to score four of the final six goals in the third to take a 14-12 lead into the fourth quarter after a goal by sophomore Vincent Edwards. In the fourth, Citrus was able to curtail the Gauchos long enough and match each of their two goals to hang on for the two goal victory. In the win, Velazquez paced the Owls with six goals on nine attempts. Edwards added three, while sophomore goalie Drake Santos stopped 14 shots and recorded five steals.

The second game of the evening, got off to another tight start. Citrus jumped out to a 2-0 lead after a pair of Velazquez scores, but the Comets rallied with four of the final six goals of the quarter to head into the second quarter knotted up at four goals each.

In the second, the two teams would trade three goals each to open the frame, with a goal by Velazquez with 5:08 left in the quarter tying the game back up at seven. That's when Palomar embarked on a 7-0 run that started with 4:26 left in the second and ended with 4:13 left in the third and saw the Comets jump out to a big 15-7 lead.

The Owls didn't back down, clawing their way all the way back into the game and trailing by just a single goal 18-19 after a score with 20 seconds left in the game. Needing a miracle steal, the Owls instead gave up an empty net goal that sealed the victory for Palomar. Freshman Jonathan Wong would lead the offensive onslaught for Citrus, scoring eight goals, with Velazquez adding six. Sophomore James Cano chipped in with four assists and a pair of scores, while Santos added 12 more saves.

With the win and the loss, Citrus drops to 6-3 on the year. The Owls will be back in action again on the Citrus College Deck against Sierra College and Orange Coast College.