The Fullerton College women’s water polo team suffered a devastating loss at home against Golden West, 16-2 on Wednesday which put an end to the team’s hopes of an undefeated season.

The loss left a bitter and familiar taste for the Hornets (15-1, 3-1 OEC) as the Rustler’s (14-0, 3-0 OEC) shut them down yet again, similar to last season’s state championship match between the two teams.

The Rustler’s scored the first goal within a minute of starting the game and their defense proved to be tough as they pressed and allowed the Lady Hornets to take very few shots the whole quarter.

Golden West’s drives proved to be a fatal blow to Fullerton as they racked up the points and staked themselves a 6-0 lead by the end of the quarter.

The second quarter did not get much better for the Hornets as Golden West continued to break through their defense and get shots in.

The Hornet offense was pushed back to nearly half tank throughout the quarter which resulted in few shot attempts. The first goal for the Lady Hornets came from set-offensive player Lelani Vazquez when she was finally able to break through Rustler defense.

Any hope of a comeback was quickly vanished as the Rustlers scored 5 more goals throughout the quarter, further asserting their dominance in the game.

Despite the loss, Hornet head coach Gabriel Martinez is thankful that his team kept a fighting spirit.

“I’m glad our team didn’t give up,” said Martinez. “They went out and competed.”

The third and fourth quarter was not any better for the Lady Hornets as the Rustlers scored 5 more goals. Vazquez brought in another goal and was the lone bright spot in the game for Fullerton.

The Lady Hornets did step up their game in the second half, pressing up their defense to slow down Rustler shot attempts.

“We need to do a better job at protecting the ball and starting the game off better,” said Martinez. “I thought we finished off fine but we need to start off better because we didn’t do that.”

The Lady Hornets will look to come back strong in this weekend’s Ventura Tournament.