MEN'S WATER POLO: The young VC Men's water polo team and first-year head coach Tim Settem gained valuable experience, splitting their second day's matches at the Cuesta Invitational in San Luis Obispo Saturday. Ventura (3-4) defeated conference foe Los Angeles Valley 9-7 before narrowly falling to Riverside 12-11 in the tournament finale. Joe Yamamoto scored five goals and Nick Miranda and Tim Allen each netted four scores while Sean McGee had 19 saves in goal for VC.
Ventura 9, LA Valley 7
Ventura jumped out 2-0 in the first period and led 7-3 at halftime. A few mental breakdowns by the Pirates allowed the Monarchs back into the match, but the VC defense tightened up down the stretch to preserve the two goal win. Yamamoto had three goals while Miranda and Rogelio Coronado each registered two goals. Allen and Rodrigo Siracusa also scored and McGee recorded 12 saves.
Ventura 11, Riverside 12
The Pirates came out strong, taking an early 2-0 advantage. The Tigers came back to tie before VC held its final lead, 5-4, at the end of the first period. The remainder of the game was tight, with the teams trading goals. Unfortunately for Ventura, Riverside prevailed 12-11. Allen led the offense with three goals while Yamamoto and Miranda each scored twice. Coronado, Tyler Remnant Hunter Shevitt and Rodrigo Siracusa also found the back of the net for the Pirates and McGee had seven saves.
VC will host its alumni team on Saturday Sept. 28 at 11:30am at the Ventura Aquatic Center on Kimball Road. They will host Cuesta in the Western State Conference opener on Wednesday Oct. 9 at 2:15 pm.