Lack of depth finally caught up to the Long Beach City College women's water polo team as the Vikings suffered a 9-5 loss to Santa Barbara City College in an opening-round game of the 2014 Southern California Regional Playoffs at Citrus College.
Long Beach, seeded No. 7 for the regionals, suited up just seven players and had no subs because of injuries.
Despite the lack of numbers, the Vikings got off to a 3-2 lead in the first quarter before No. 10-seeded Santa Barbara (17-12) outscored LBCC 3-0 in the second to go ahead for good and take a 5-3 advantage at halftime.
Freshman Burdette Forsch (Yorba Linda HS) led Long Beach with three goals while sophomore Adrienne Alaniz (Wilson HS) and Cathryn Lynch (Marina HS) also scored. Freshman Ayla Collier (Poly HS) had eight saves in goal for the Vikings.
Long Beach closes its season with a 20-11 overall record. The Vikings finished third in the South Coast Conference at 8-3.