Saddleback women water polo takes the lead against Santa Ana College.

Saddleback Gauchos had a great win of 17-6 against Santa Ana Colleges this past Thursday with a strong offense and defense.

Saddleback College women water polo took the win this past Thursday against Santa Ana College defeating them by a score of 17-6. Gauchos came in hard and eager to win after a few losses against Ventura and Mt. San Antonio colleges.

Saddleback dominated the first quarter of the game gaining the 17 points all within the first quarter.

Elle Catacutan, field player and sophomore, made the first two goals assisted by Lauren Kennedy, lefty field player and freshman, which eventually led to a victory for the them.

Gauchos encountered some challenges over the size of the Santa Ana pool and members of the team felt there was some disadvantages that came with it.

“We did well.” Kennedy said. “Though the pool was a lot smaller than we’re used to and we felt more clumped together, which I felt kept us from driving as hard as we usually do.”

Even though Saddleback may have felt they were not able be as aggressive as they normally are that didn’t stop them from having a strong offensive team leading to a win.

By midway first quarter Gauchos led with a score of 14-0 with no shots made by the Santa Ana’s Dons.

Maddie Alexander, set player and freshman, ended the first quarter making six scores contributing to the win. Don’s finally made one by shot by the end of first quarter while Gauchos had a strong lead of 17-1.

Throughout the second and third quarter, Gauchos maintained excellent efforts to stay on top with their defensive tactics and pushing offense.

Alexander, who is also the team captain, was happy with the results of the game, however felt communication lacked and is definitely something the team will work on for future games.

“Communication was an issue that we had,” Alexander said. “We didn’t know where we suppose to go on our 6 on 5, but that is something we will work on and correct this weekend.”

Even with a strong win, Alexander still looks for the improvements that can be made for the following games.

Ending the game with the final score of 17-6 the Gauchos were happy with their win. Head Coach Jennifer Higgison appreciated both efforts of each team.

“Santa Ana had some really good players and took advantage of some of our defensive weaknesses, but our girls went ahead, adjusted and played really well,” Higgison said.

Gauchos are preparing for a tournament this weekend and will be ready to give it their all.

“We have two games this weekend with Santa Barbara and Southwestern, and then we have conference next week.” Higgison said.  “We are really excited and happy with the results [and] really glad that Santa Ana gave us a good game and made us adjust our offense and defense.”

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