Owls Finish Second at Home Hosted Tournament

Glendora, CA -- After advancing to the championship pool thanks to a pair of wins in day one, the Citrus College Women's Water Polo team finished the weekend with a second place finish. The Owls started the day off with a dominating 7-1 win over San Diego Mesa, before falling in a near epic comeback to LA Valley 7-5.

In the first game, the Owls traded scores with the Olympians in the first quarter. After that, the Owls' defense clamped down, and the offense did more than enough to get the job done. Citrus scored twice in each of the final three quarters, while not allowing another Mesa goal for the remainder of the contest.

Sophomore Kendra New scored three times, while handing out an assist and recording a steal. Sophomore Candelaria Baca had a goal, two assists, and a team high five steals, and Freshman Rose Takeuchi, was strong in goal stopping six of the seven shots she faced in the cage.

Later in the day came the Championship Match with LA Valley. Citrus fell into a big early hole, giving up five goals in the first quarter and coming up with nothing on Valley's end of the pool. The Owls rallied in the second, scoring a pair while holding the Monarchs scoreless to go into the break down by just three. The two teams traded a goal each in the third, and in the fourth Citrus outscored Valley 2-1. Unfortunately it was too little too late as they fell by a pair of scores.

In the loss, Citrus' five goals were spread out evenly between, New, Baca, sophomores Lora Marquez-Salgado and Kacie Zinkosky, and freshman Katherine Cuevas. Marquez-Salgado added a team high four steals, while freshman Kimberly Torres had a pair of assists.

After going 3-1 on the weekend, Citrus improved to 10-11 overall. The Owls when will be back in the water on Wednesday for their second straight match with the Monarchs. The WSC game is set for a 5:00 PM start in Valley Glen.