Playing one of their best games of the year, the Pirates' men's water polo team gave No. 3-ranked LA Valley all they could handle before falling 13-7 Wednesday in Valley Glen. Cole Morter drew seven ejections with one assist and a steal and Kyle Goodrich had two helpers and two drawn exclusions for VC (9-14, 1-3).Tanner islander and Ryan Reardon each netted three goals in the match.
Ventura kept things tight in the first quarter with a pair of scores from Reardon and another goal by Islander. VC trailed 4-3 at the quarter break. The Pirates could not maintain the momentum in the second period, however, and trailed 8-3 at halftime. Despite the rough patch, Ventura kept up the fight, playing the Monarchs to within a goal in the final half.
Nico Chamberlin was the only other Pirate to record a goal in the game. Derek Gamberutti had seven saves in the cage while Dalton Esrofani turned back six LA Valley shots.
Ventura will next travel to Costa Mesa on Saturday Oct. 21 to play Orange Coast and Grossmont.