Chloe O'Connor rifled in her fifth goal of the game with 17 seconds left in overtime to give the Pasadena City College women's water polo team a thrilling, 11-10 victory over Rio Hondo at PCC's Aquatic Center on Wednesday afternoon.
The Lancers (4-9, 2-3 in South Coast Conference play) led by as much as 7-3 during the third quarter, but Rio Hondo fought back and used two goals in the final 1:23 of regulation to tie it at 10-10. After both teams failed to score in the first 3-minute OT period, the Lancers scored its only power play goal of the game late in the second OT when Fernanda Alvarez spotted O'Connor in the high middle and the freshman connected with her game-winning shot.
Alvarez had a big game with four goals, two assists and a game-high five steals. Lori Nalbandian added a goal and three assists while Carolina Lopez picked up a RHC turnover and raced the length of the pool to score a goal that broke an 8-8 tie at that point with 4:38 left in the fourth quarter.
The Lancers relied once again on the sterling goaltending of Jackie Collier, who made 14 saves. Collier had six blocks from five meters and in as she used acrobatic skills to fight off high-quality Rio Hondo attempts. The Roadrunners were paced by June Babishoff who scored four goals and made five assists.
"Chloe just made a clutch play for us to score the game winner," said PCC head coach Terry Stoddard. "We didn't execute well on previous player advantage opportunities, but when we absolutely needed it Fernanda made a great pass to set Chloe up. Jackie has been a spectacular goalie for us all year and has kept us in games with her leadership and performance. Fernanda played solid defensely and was a key factor on both sides of the pool."
After 13 games, Alvarez leads the team in goals with 32 while O'Connor has 25 goals and a team-best 14 assists. Collier's 90 saves and 19 steals top the Lancers defensively.
On Friday-Saturday, Oct. 18-19, PCC plays four games at the Citrus Tournament. The Lancers open with a 9:10 a.m. game v. LA Valley College on Friday.