The Ventura College mens water polo team closed the regular season with a double header against the Ventura Masters Club team at the Ventura Aquatic Center Saturday morning. The Pirates were victorious in the first contest 17-14 before falling in the second, 15-9. With the win, VC (20-12, 3-1) topped the 20-win plateau for the season.
Ventura 17, Ventura Masters Club 14
Using primarily starters, Ventura won a hard fought victory over the veteran club team.
VC led 3-2 after the first quarter, and built a 6-3 advantage midway through the second period before the Masters rattled off five unanswered goals to take an 8-6 lead. The Pirates closed the gap to 8-7 by halftime. Ventura scored three straight goals to open the second half, outscoring their opponents 5-3 in the third quarter. The Masters closed to within 14-13 midway through the final period, but the Pirates were able to hold them off for the win.
Coby Wiegman had a solid outing with seven goals and three steals and CJ Daland netted five scores. Kyle Goodrich scored twice in the game while Mitch Caldwell pulled in five steals on defense. Luis Galvez turned away 10 Masters shots in the cage.
Ventura 9, Ventura Masters Club 9
The second game of the double dip gave the entire VC roster a chance at extended minutes in the regular season finale. The Ventura Masters led 4-2 at the quarter and 7-5 at intermission. the Pirates trailed 11-8 at the end of three periods before being outscored by the veterans 4-1 i the final stanza.
Greg Berardinelli led VC with five goals in the game and Caldwell netted four scores. Goalie Andrew Escobar had four saves in goal.
The Pirates will play in the Western State Conference Tournament Friday and Saturday Nov. 4 and 5 in San Luis Obispo. Pairings will be announced early in the week for the Pirates, who finished in a three-way tie for first in regular season play with Cuesta and Citrus.