SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The No. 2 Santa Barbara City College Women’s Water Polo team (27-6, 6-0) dominated hosting the SBCC Halloween Invitational this weekend at Santa Barbara High, averaging 15 goals per game across their four wins out of four.

The Vaqueros earned another top-five win—on Friday over No. 5 Orange Coast—as they closed their regular season schedule.

“The girls were all fired up to play here in front of so many people,” Head Coach Chuckie Roth said of the Friday night game. “It was a great environment between the high school game and everyone being here tonight. To have your counselors and support staff from the school here watching and supporting you, it goes a long way.”

They look ahead to the Western State Conference (WSC) Tournament, where they will compete for their 12th straight conference title.

Santa Barbara 17, Orange Coast 9

Under the lights on Halloween eve, it was quite the unique occasion for the program. Only playing a handful of games in Santa Barbara per year, the Vaqueros rarely host top-five opposition or play night games. Some extra support from SBCC staff members in attendance was another cool touch.

The energy was enhanced even further by a boys’ high school playoff matchup between San Marcos and Westlake immediately preceding the Vaqueros’ game.

“There’s a lot of people that make this happen, and it’s really cool when people can get out and see our kids do what they do,” Roth continued.

Furthermore, Katie Strohl rejoined the squad for the first time since the opening weekend of the season. The sophomore led the state with 104 assists last year. She scored the first goal of this game to mark her return.

“I’m really happy for her to come out and score the first goal—that was awesome,” Roth said. “She’s such an amazing human.”

Tessa Hidalgo also scored twice a minute apart to help the Vaqueros to a 5-2 lead after the first quarter.

Orange Coast scored three consecutive goals to tie it at 5-5 early in the second. Similar to Hidalgo, both Olivia Spieth and Pamela Hernandez scored two goals each about 30 seconds apart for a 9-7 Santa Barbara lead at halftime.

The Vaqueros pulled away with a 6-2 third quarter. Six different players found the net with goalie Ava Barclay providing two assists.

With a 15-9 lead going into the fourth, Luciana Grooms and Julia Joseph scored the last two goals. The Vaqueros’ defense did not allow a goal in the final frame, thus only allowing two goals in the entire second half.

Spieth’s three goals led the team, but 12 different Vaqueros scored at least one. Alina King and Barclay—who had 10 saves in two quarters—each had three assists.

Santa Barbara 14, West Valley 4

Early Saturday morning, the Vaqueros made quick work of No. 9 West Valley. Two goals from Grooms and Sophie McGehee in the first quarter guided them a 6-1 lead. By halftime, it was 9-2.

Once again, the Vaqueros shut out the visitors in the fourth quarter, cruising to a 14-4 win.

Grooms and McGehee each had three goals overall, with Riley Granzella also having a multi-goal game. The goalies Barclay (three) and Riley Olney (two) led the team in steals.

Santa Barbara 12, LA Valley 6

The second game of the morning doubleheader was the final WSC match of the regular season, against a competitive LA Valley program. They had only lost one other conference match (Cuesta) before playing the Vaqueros.

Again McGehee netted two goals in the opening frame to help with a 5-2 first-quarter lead. It was 7-3 at halftime before Joseph scored twice in the third to make it 10-4. The Vaqueros kept LA Valley at arm’s length from there, eventually leading to a 12-6 final score.

Hidalgo and Joseph were the team leaders statistically. They each scored three goals; Hidalgo notched five exclusions drawn and Joseph tallied three steals. McGehee’s two goals and three assists were also noteworthy, as were Olney’s 11 saves.

Santa Barbara 15, UCSB Club 4

After a break, the Vaqueros rounded out the tournament on Halloween afternoon against the UCSB Club team. Seven goals in the first quarter—two from Granzella and Larsen Jensen—were the most they scored in any quarter across the weekend.

The typically strong Vaqueros’ defense allowed just one goal per quarter as they won their fourth game in about 20 hours, and third of the day.

Looking ahead to the WSC Tournament, the top-seeded Vaqueros receive a Thursday bye. They will play the winner of Bakersfield-Ventura on Friday at 11:15 a.m., hosted at Cuesta. Should they win, they will play in the final on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.