Controversy gave the men’s water polo team the extra push it needed to defeat Chaffey during a conference game Oct. 14.
“It was very exciting and they are a tough team to beat,” coach Corey Stanbury said.
The men won 14-12 and were thus raised in their conference ranking.
“It was a close game,” Stanbury said, with the team posing a challenge to EC last season.
“Chaffey is one of the toughest we have played,” Stanbury said, adding that the win was a great accomplishment and a morale boost for the Warriors.
The men showed great defense, with every player who played making at least one steal.
In addition, the Warriors were able to maintain control of the ball much of the game.
David Olson, goalkeeper, made 13 saves against the competition, contributing to the strong defense.
The controversy came into play when Chaffey made a goal that the Warriors contested.
“It (the ball) hit the outside (of the goal), but the ref counted it,” player Reza Vahabuezhad, 18, said.
Vahabuezhad said the men’s bench was located right by the goal and so they had a closer view of what really occurred than the referee.
“It made us angry, which gave us energy and pumped us up so that we wanted to win even more,” Vahabuezhad said.
“We started way ahead, but then they caught up and we had a bad third quarter,” Stanbury said.
The closeness of the game in the third quarter gave the men even more motivation to take the game.
Many players scored goals during the game, but the standouts were Javier Molina with four goals and Patrick Grunbock with six.
“Patrick scored his when it was six on five, which is really good,” Stanbury said.
He added that Molina’s performance was “outstanding.”
Other players such as Justin Nash, 22, saw the game as another steppingstone to getting higher rankings.
“We are finishing out games (now), and showing more strength throughout,” Nash said.
The Warriors also showed more teamwork with a high number of assist from game to game.
The men have a week off to rest due to the fact that Rio Hondo doesn’t have a men’s team, so they will not play again until Oct. 28 against Long Beach City College.
LBCC beat the Warriors last year, but this time EC will have a chance to show how strong they are.
The conference game will take place at the pool, following the women’s game beginning at 4 p.m.