Defensive errors and talented opponents caused the Warriors to place seventh at the Ventura Tournament last weekend, dropping their overall record to 3-10.
EC played four games during the tournament, losing the first three games and winning the final match.
EC lost to Fullerton 17-5, L.A. Valley 10-4, and a very competitive game to Southwestern College 5-2, before picking up a victory in the last game against Santa Monica 11-4.
“Our team struggled the whole game (against Fullerton) and we couldn’t put it together on either side of the pool,” coach Corey Stanbury said.
The Warriors faced off against L.A. Valley College in the second round and ended up having the best result against them they have had all season, even though they lost 10-4.
“L.A. Valley is a vicious team, but we played much better as a team than the last time we played them,” goalie Erin Holder said.
EC played L.A. Valley twice before the Ventura Tournament and lost both matches by wider margins, but played a very even second half of the game against them keeping the score at four goals each.
“Everyone worked really well together, especially Erica Shaw. She really stepped up and took control on defense,” Holder said.
Southwestern was the next opponent during the tournament, and the Warriors played one of their best games of the season in a close 5-2 loss.
“We watched Southwestern play other teams in the tournament and thought they would score more than they did against us, but our defense played strongly and held them to five goals,” Stanbury said.
The Warriors made a key defensive error with one minute left to go in the fourth period down 4-2, which caused Southwestern to score a fifth goal and seal the game.
The difference maker in the game was the goalie for Southwestern, who played an outstanding game and blocked numerous quality shots by the offense.
“Their goalie was causing us to cut our shots too close and we had a few shots that even clanged off of the post,” Stanbury said.
The final game of the tournament for EC was against Santa Monica and it picked up its first win of the tournament by a score of 11-4.
Offensively, the Warriors came out strong and scored six goals going into the half, but the defense was the real story. It shutout the Santa Monica offense through two quarters and gave up only four goals in the second half.
“We stopped them in their tracks on defense and our offense was clicking well,” Stanbury said.
The Warriors hosted Chaffey College yesterday, but results were not available at press time.
“I played water polo in high school, and I didn’t know we had a team. I am definitely going to check them out and show my support,” said student Brittany Ruiz.
A long season is ahead of the Warriors, and a lot of hard work will be needed to turn this season around, but the team has the talent and determination to succeed.
“Our team was very tired by the middle of the last game, but the players really impressed me with their determination and the way they kept their energy up all tournament long,” Stanbury said.
