EC men’s water polo plays catch-up with Chaffey College at home

The men’s water polo team (6-12), played Chaffey College (11-6) on Monday, Oct. 8, at the El Camino College home pool and it was closer than the final score indicated.

The Panthers dominated the first fourteen 14 minutes, outscoring EC to build an 8-1 lead.

However, the Warriors then mounted a massive comeback, as they scored 7 unanswered goals to tie the score at 8 all by the end of a very eventful second period.

Matthew Thorne, Aidan Morvice, Sam Waters, and Ikaika Napohaku contributed to this run.

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Aidan Morvice (8) sets up to shoot during the ECC-Chaffey men’s water polo game at the ECC swimming pool on Monday, Oct, 8. ECC lost the game by a score of 18-11. (Jack Kan/Union) Photo credit: Jack Kan
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Aidan Morvice lifts the ball out of the water in anticipation of his next move during the ECC-Chaffey men’s water polo game at the ECC swimming pool on Monday, Oct, 8. ECC lost the game by a score of 18-11. (Jack Kan/Union) Photo credit: Jack Kan
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EC men’s water polo team vs Chaffey at El Camino College on Monday, Oct. 8. Photo credit: Mari Inagaki

Chaffey subsequently regained their momentum in the second half, outscoring EC by 10-3.

This resulted in a final losing score of 18-11 for the Warriors.

Matthew Thorne and Ikaika Napohaku were the leading scorers for EC with 4 and 3 goals respectively.

Brandon Soto had a busy afternoon as he saved 9 out of 27 shots on goals.

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Ikaika Napohaku (9) calls out for help during the ECC-Chaffey men’s water polo game at the ECC swimming pool on Monday, Oct, 8. ECC lost the game by a score of 18-11. (Jack Kan/Union) Photo credit: Jack Kan
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ECC goalie Brandon Soto rise out of the water to parry a shot during the ECC-Chaffey men’s water polo game at the ECC swimming pool on Monday, Oct, 8. ECC lost the game by a score of 18-11. (Jack Kan/Union) Photo credit: Jack Kan
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Kyle Thorne gets away from an opponent during the ECC-Chaffey men’s water polo game at the ECC swimming pool on Monday, Oct, 8. ECC lost the game by a score of 18-11. (Jack Kan/Union) Photo credit: Jack Kan

For the Chaffey Panthers, Giovanni Santos-Cantu led the way with 6 goals, followed by Kyle McClanahan with 5 goals.

In the midst of a vocal crowd, the ECC women’s volleyball team provided some extra energy by showing up as a group to support their fellow Warrior athletes.

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The ECC women’s volleyball team was there to cheer the ECC men’s water polo team during the ECC-Chaffey game at the ECC swimming pool on Monday, Oct, 8. The Warriors lost the game by a score of 18-11. (Jack Kan/Union) Photo credit: Jack Kan
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The Warriors line to shake hands with the Chaffey College Panthers after the ECC-Chaffey men’s water polo game at the ECC swimming pool on Monday, Oct, 8. ECC lost the game by a score of 18-11. (Jack Kan/Union) Photo credit: Jack Kan

This was the men’s water polo teams last home game. Their next outing will be on Friday, Oct. 12 at the SMC Mini Tournament where they will play Santa Monica College at 11 a.m. and Fullerton College at 12:30 p.m.

 

Updated to remove edits on Wednesday, Oct. 10 at 2:56 p.m.