SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – The SBCC women's water polo team completed a perfect week in its first competition of October, going 4-for-4 at the MidState Classic hosted by Cuesta College.
The Vaqueros opened things with wins of 8-7 over Fullerton and 10-2 over American River on Friday. The following day, they downed Cypress 13-5 and capped things off with an 11-6 win over Long Beach.
Winners in each of its last six, Santa Barbara is now on its longest win streak of the season, boasting a 15-3 overall mark.
Game 1: SBCC vs. Fullerton
For the second straight Friday, SBCC battled Fullerton down to the wire. In a contest which saw three ties and two lead changes, the Vaqueros would come away with an identical 8-7 victory.
After heading into the half all knotted up at 4-4, SBCC would trail for most of the second half. With 1:32 left in regulation, Eden Tal scored off an assist from Allison Kay to help send it into overtime at 7-7.
Tal carried the scoring load for the Vaqueros, putting away five goals including the game-winner in the second overtime period. It was the second time this season that she's scored at least five times. She also added two assists, four steals and four drawn exclusions.
Charlize Winter, Allison Kay and Jenna Olson all scored once.
Goalkeeper Chloe Mckay had 10 saves, reaching double-figures for the third consecutive outing.
Game 2: SBCC vs. American River
Facing American River in their second game on Friday, the Vaqueros cruised to a 10-2 win. The Vaqueros jumped out to a 4-0 lead and never looked back.
Tal scored four goals, while Emily Lopez scored twice. Kay, Angelina Adams, Jenna Olson and Ensley Letterman had one goal apiece.
Emily Clapham was all over the place on the defensive end with four steals and two field blocks. Mckay tallied six saves and an assist.
"Today was another test of resiliency. We went down by two in the first game and found a way to come back in overtime," head coach Chuckie Roth said. "I thought Chloe McKay played great in the cage. Eden Tal also had a great day."
Game 3: SBCC vs. Cypress
A balanced scoring attack saw SBCC defeat Cypress 13-5 in Saturday's opening game. The Vaqueros led 8-1 following a goal by Emily Clapham in the opening minutes of the second quarter.
Clapham went on to notch her first hat trick of the year and her third multi-goal performance of 2021. Adams, Kay, Tal and Lauren Tuxill all had two-goal performances. Rounding out Santa Barbara's goalscorers were Olson and Aaliyah Gavia with one goal each.
The Vaquero defense ended the game with 21 steals, the most in in their last eight games.
Game 4: SBCC vs. Long Beach
The Vaqueros ended the weekend against Long Beach, another team they had faced last week at the Mt. SAC Tournament. After starting strong with a 5-0 advantage, they would once again defeat the Vikings, downing them 11-6.
Olson and Winter led SBCC on both sides of the ball, scoring three goals each and posting team-highs of five and four steals, respectively.
Letterman had two goals, while Gavia, Kay and Tal scored once. Tal also drew four exclusions for the third time in her last five games.
Next Up
This coming weekend, the Vaqueros head out to the Ventura Tournament for another five-game slate. They will start things off on Friday against Santa Monica at 8:00 a.m.
