A second half burst of energy propelled the women’s water polo team to earn its sixth victory of the season, beating Rio Hondo College 12-6.
The Warriors started the game off a little sluggish during the first half, but were in the lead throughout the entire game.
Looking ahead, the Warriors face Long Beach City College tomorrow. The Vikings are one of the top team’s in California this year.
During the first quarter against Rio Hondo, the defense played well, giving up just one goal and the offense helped the Warriors jump in front of the Road Runners by scoring two goals.
“Offensively, we were sputtering in the first half and Rio Hondo held up very well defensively,” coach Corey Stanbury said.
Going into halftime, the Warriors had a 5-2 lead and were getting stronger as the game progressed.
The second half started out with a bang, with EC and Rio Hondo each scoring three goals in the third quarter, but the Warriors took over the game in the final quarter.
With the score 8-5 to begin the fourth quarter, it was still anyone’s game, but EC stepped up and scored four goals against the Road Runner defense and only gave up a single goal while on defense.
“We were getting the ball into the set and were able to see open players making cuts,” Stanbury said.
There were quite a few standouts during the game on both sides of the ball.
Haley Canning, Erica Shaw and Katie Sloss were the main scoring punch on offense for the Warriors, combining for 10 goals.
Lisa Odland and Amanda Sloss added one goal a piece against Rio Hondo.
In the cage, Erin Holder had one of her best games of the season so far.
“My two years of eligibility ended this season, but (Holder) is playing really great at goalie this year,” former Warrior goalie Jordyn Greene said.
Holder made a season-high eight saves during the match and added two steals as well, helping her team pick up its fourth consecutive win.
“I have not played much goalie before the start of this season, but I am adjusting well to the position and am getting better at anticipating the offense of our opponents,” Holder said.
On defense, the Warriors played well as a team and the Sloss sisters helped out as they picked up two steals each.
“It was a great group effort on defense, and (Holder) had one of her best performances this year,” Stanbury said.
Long Beach will be the most talented team that EC has faced this season and it will be a true test of how good this year’s team is.
“The Long Beach offense is very potent, so we will have to play very good group defense in order to pick up the victory,” Stanbury said. “If we play smart, do not get counter attacked and play well in transition, then we have a good chance of beating this team.”
