Continuing Western State Conference play, the Ventura College men's water polo team traveled to Santa Monica Wednesday, coming away with an 11-6 victory over the Corsairs. CJ Daland led the offense with five goals while Coby Wiegman anchored the defense with five steals in the Pirate victory.
Ventura (14-6, 2-0) was dominant from the onset, racing to a 5-0 lead at the 4:16 mark of the second quarter on Daland's third goal of the day. VC led 5-2 at halftime.
Santa Monica tried to make a game of things in the second half, closing to within 5-3 early in the third quarter. Daland helped keep the Corsairs at bey sandwiching a pair of scores around an SMC goal to help maintain the Pirates' advantage.
Ventura finally put the match away early in the fourth period when Clint Howard scored, followed by two goals from Kevin Smallwood, making the score 10-5 in favor of the Pirates. VC rode the momentum to the 11-6 win.
Wiegman contributed two goals on the afternoon, as did Smallwood. Howard rounded out the offense with a pair of scores, as well.
The Pirate defense was strong once again with 17 steals as a team. In addition to Wiegman's five thefts, Smallwood, Daland and Howard all recorded three steals. Goalie Luis Galvez recorded 10 saves in the cage with a pair of steals.
The Pirates will return home on Wednesday Oct. 12 to host LA Valley. The match is set to begin at 2:15pm at the Ventura Aquatic Center.