The Pirates' men's water polo team split a pair of games Saturday to conclude the Saddleback Invitational in Mission Viejo. VC defeated El Camino 15-5 in the first contest of the morning before falling to the host Gauchos 11-9 in a tough contest in the tournament finale. Isaac Alvary had five goals in the two matches to lead the Pirates (13-6, 1-0).
Ventura 15, El Camino 5
Ventura pulled away at a steady pace throughout the first half, holding leads of 3-1 and 7-3 at the end of the first two quarters, respectively. A 4-0 run in the third period gave VC control as they cruised to the 15-5 victory over the Warriors. Alvary netted three goals with a pair of drawn ejections and three steals. Mitch Caldwell also had three scores with two steals and Hunter Cotter also found the back of the net three times. Chandler Cole had two goals while Raleigh Mendez had a goal with four steals. Andrew Escobar turned back seven El Camino shots in goal.
Ventura 9, Saddleback 11
The Pirates battled ejection issues from the start and fell behind the Gauchos 6-1 in the second quarter. Ventura never quit the fight however, making a game out of it despite losing three starters due to ejections. Clint Howard had two goals with a pair of assists, four drawn ejections and three steals while CJ Daland and Alvary also netted two scores each. Kevin Smallwood had a goal with four steals and Kyle Goodrich handed out three assists with a drawn ejection and a steal. Caldwell recorded two helpers and Luis Galvez had nine saves in the cage.
Ventura resumes Western State Conference play on Wednesday Oct. 5 at Santa Monica before hosting LA Valley on Wednesday Oct. 12.