BATTLE AT THE BEACH CHAMPS!

After a stunning 7-6 conference loss at Riverside City College on Wednesday, the No. 2 in state Hornets came back with fire in their hearts beating all four ranked teams at the Battle at the Beach Tournament hosted by Long Beach City. 

On Friday, FC brought down LA Valley 17-1. Nikki Salerno was the goal leader with 5. Jordyn Lughart punched in 3, while Carmen Liberto, Neida Torres, and Kate De La Mora all had 2 goals each. 

Later in the day, the Hornets went on to beat No. 7 San Joaquin Delta 15-5. Torres led the way with 4 goals. Adrianna Wong, De La Mora, and Lughart all contributed 3 goals apiece. 

In the semi-final game on Saturday, Fullerton defeated No. 4 Santa Barbara City 5-4 in overtime. FC went up 3-0 in the first quarter, but the Vaqueros tied the game up 3-3 by halftime. Tied 4-4 by the end of regulation, the game was won in overtime thanks to a goal by Neida Torres sending the team to the championship game. 

In the tournament championship against No. 3 Orange Coast, the Hornets sank the Pirates 11-5. Fullerton took a 5-2 lead into halftime and then blew the game wide open in the third quarter, out-scoring OCC 6-1. FC closed it out in the fourth allowing 2 more Orange Coast goals for the win. Adrianna Wong had 3 goals, while Amanda Ellerbroek and Niki Salerno added 2 more. 

FC goalie Alex Airitam had a stellar tournament allowing 15 goals in four games with a total of 48 saves. 

Up Next: The Hornets (22-2 overall, 3-1 OEC) will travel to Orange Coast College for an Orange Empire Conference match on Wednesday, October 26th at 3:00 pm.