MEN'S WATER POLO: The Pirates' men's water polo team had visiting Cuesta on the ropes Wednesday afternoon, leading 5-3 just seconds into the third quarter. The No. 6-ranked Cougars responded with eight of the next nine goals over an eight minute span to take control of the match, defeating Ventura 11-8 in the Pirates' Western State Conference opener. Joe Yamamoto had four goals and an assist and Tim Allen scored three times for VC (3-6, 0-1). Sean McGee recorded seven saves.
The two teams battled in the opening minutes with neither able to gain the upper hand. The score was tied 2-2 after the first quarter and the Pirates managed a slim 4-3 lead at halftime.
In the third quarter, Nick Miranda scored from the middle 90 seconds into play, giving VC a 5-3 advantage. It was all Cougars from that point on, however, as Cuesta scored twice in the next two minutes to tie the match at 5-5. McGee had a nice save with 3:25 remaining, leading to a VC counter attack punctuated by a goal by Allen, putting Ventura ahead for the final time in the match, 6-5. Cuesta scored twice in the next 23 seconds to take the lead for good, and built an 11-6 advantage before Yamamoto scored twice in the closing minutes to set the final score.
Ventura travels to the Riverside Tournament this weekend, October 11-12, before heading to Citrus on Wednesday Oct. 16 to resume WSC play.