Men’s water polo dives into a win

The Gaucho goalie blocks an attempted goal by one of Santa Ana’s players. (Alyssa Hunter)

With a final score of 11-8 against Santa Ana College, Saddleback College’s men’s water polo team won the match last Wednesday.

The quarters were eventful and the scores seemed to move quicker as the game progressed. The first quarter showed few signs of who would win, with the score being 3-2.

Although the first quarter score was only 3-2 the second quarter ended with a score of 6-4, so the score ascended more than double in points for the Gauchos.

The third quarter showed promise and the score changed from 6-4 to 8-5, giving a leeway of three points between the teams.

During the fourth quarter the entire time was a game of catch up for the Santa Ana men’s water polo team, because the Gauchos were gaining the most points in the quarter.

The scores had a habit of keeping two or three points apart throughout the game, so ties didn’t ever seem to become a problem.

As for the fourth quarter, the score went from 8-5 to 11-8, so the Gauchos gained three points as well as Santa Ana.

At one point, Saddleback passed the ball to each other so repetitively that it became clear it was a strategy to catch the opposing team off guard. It worked a few times in the third and fourth quarter.

“This was a good game for us, it’s a great way to finish out the conference,” said Pat Higginson, the coach of the Saddleback men’s water polo team.

Throughout the water polo game, the player that scored the most points on the Gauchos was Matt Villanueva, according to Higginson.

“I’m really happy with the guys. They’re finishing strong at the end of the season and we’re coming together better, so we’ve come a long way and I’m really proud of them,” Higginson said.

Another player that Higginson praised for the game, was Cody Casey. Higginson said he gave his best efforts throughout the game.

There is also a more recently added player, Scott Walker. Although he is newcomer than the others, Higginson praised his contributions to the team as well.

“We’re looking forward to our home tournament that we have coming up this weekend,” said Coach Higginson.

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