Spalding Era Starts Strong at River Rage Tournament
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Citrus (3-0) | 5 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 15 |
|
Santa Rosa (0-3) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Citrus (2-0) | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 15 |
|
Las Positas (0-2) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Citrus (3-1) | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
|
San Joaquin Delta (3-2) | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 13 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Citrus (1-0) | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 11 |
|
American River (0-2) | 1 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 10 |
Sacramento, CA - The Jennifer Spalding Era got off to a strong start for the Citrus College Women's Water Polo program over the weekend at the 9th Annual River Rage Tournament hosted by American River College. The Owls faced some of the best competition Northern California has to offer and came back to Glendora with a 3-1 record.
The weekend started on Friday morning against their host for the two days in Sacramento, American River College. The Owls led 2-1 after the first quarter, but needed a pair of late second quarter goals by freshman Lindasy Powell to take a 5-3 lead into halftime. The Hawks would come out of the break on fire, scoring four straight goals to put Citrus in the hole 5-7. The Owls rallied though, scoring four of the final five goals of the quarter over the final 2:47 of play to head into the fourth quarter up 9-8 after a score by sophomore Gabriella Galbraith with one second left.
In the fourth quarter, American River would score the game up twice, at 9-9 and at 10-10. Each time the Owls had an answer though, getting a goal by Powell and another by freshman Hunter Olivier to claim a 11-10 victory. Powell would lead the way for Citrus, scoring five of their 11 goals, while freshman Chloe Barrocas handed out four assists and drew three exclusions. Sophomore goalie Delaney Moller rounded out the superlatives with three saves and four steals in the cage.
After the early back and forth affair to kick the weekend off, Citrus ran away with things in their second game with a 15-6 win over Las Positas College. The Owls scored 12 of the first 13 goals of the contest, and were never really threatened. Olivier was the scoring leader for Citrus this time around, pumping in four goals. Olivier also recorded three assists, and notched three steals in the win.
On Saturday, Citrus again used a fast start to claim a big win, this time over Santa Rosa Junior College. The Owls led 11-3 after the first three quarters of action, en route to a 15-6 victory over the Bearcats. Freshman Brooke Padilla and freshman Alyssa Gonzalez each scored three times. Barrocas added four steals, while Moller had eight saves, two assists, two steals, and only gave up four goals.
The weekend would end later in the day against arguably the top team NorCal team there on the weekend in San Joaquin Delta College. It was a back and forth affair with five ties and three separate lead changes. The Mustangs would take the early lead, going up 4-3 after the first quarter, before Citrus pulled even at the break 6-6 after a late goal by Gonzalez off a fast-break pass from Moller.
Citrus would come out of halftime and score the first two goals, both by Barrocas, but Delta rallied with a 6-0 run that saw the Owls go from up two, down four. Olivier would try to pull the Owls back in it, breaking up the run with a score with 1:30 to go, but the Mustangs scored on their next trip down the pool for the final margin of 13-9. Barrocas and Olivier would each score three times in the loss. Barrocas also had three steals and two assists.
The Owls will be back in action this coming weekend when they participate in the Riverside City College Tournament. Citrus opens the tournament against Cerritos College at 9:05 AM on Friday.