OCC women’s water polo: Women easily beat No. 3 Riverside

Steve Virgen

COSTA MESA - You can say Orange Coast College’s Devon Wright is a

quick study. Wright, under the direction of OCC women’s water polo

assistant coach Jeff Hamilton, learned some new moves, Wednesday, that

would get her in better position to score. The result: Wright scored

three goals in the first quarter for her women’s water polo team en route

to a 6-1 Orange Empire victory over Riverside Wednesday.

Wright said she used one of her new moves on her first goal. One

minute into the match, she gained favorable position and threw a score

into the cage.

Then, she placed herself again in front of Riverside’s cage to get

another goal, one minute later. And with less than three minutes

remaining in the first quarter, Wright scored off her own shot

deflection.

“We learned a couple new moves,” she said simply as she gave credit to

Hamilton.

Wright’s new game came with good timing because the Coast-Riverside

matchup had a heavyweight-like billing. The Pirates are ranked No. 2 in

the state by the Community College Water Polo Poll and the Tigers are No.

3

“You just get really pumped for it,” Wright said.

And when OCC cruised past Riverside (14-6-1, 3-2 in the OEC) Pirates’

Coach Mike Giles was surprised”Wow,” he said. “That was really good for

us, to beat a No. 3 team like that. I think we took them by surprise.”

Giles, however, quickly noted last year’s scenario against Riverside.

He said the Pirates defeated the Tigers, 6-0, twice last year only to see

themselves lose, 3-2, in the conference playoffs.

“It’s going to be a lot harder to play them in a big pool,” Giles

said. “It will be a different game.”

The Pirates have a pool that is smaller in length in comparison to

most pools. The short length prevented the Tigers from using their speed,

especially when they counterattack.

OCC (14-2-1, 3-1) took advantage of its home pool to earn a 5-0

halftime lead. After Wright’s three goals, Daylene Coberly threw in two

scores before the break. Neisha Hoagland scored the Pirates’ final goal

with seven minutes remaining in the match.

“The girls are running the system really well,” Giles said of his team

sticking to the gameplan.

He also said the Pirates are playing well right now because they have

come together as a team. They cheer and joke with each other.

“We hang out all the time,” Wright said of the team’s camaraderie. “We

go to the movies.”

ORANGE EMPIRE CONFERENCE

Orange Coast 6, Riverside City 1

Riverside CC 0 0 1 0 - 1

Orange Coast 3 2 0 1 - 6

OCC - Wright 3, Coberly 2, Hoagland 1. Saves: Kennedy 9.