The VC men's water polo team used a strong second half performance to defeat visiting Santa Monica 19-8 Wednesday afternoon at the Ventura Aquatic Center. The Pirates (7-5, 2-0) held the Corsairs scoreless for over 12 minutes to begin the second half, turning what was an 8-6 game at halftime into a 15-6 Ventura advantage heading into the final three minutes of play. Ryan Reardon netted six goals to lead the Pirates while Brandyn Robles scored five.
Santa Monica took an early one goal lead before two goals by Robles and scores from Reardon and Austin Brunk put Ventura ahead 4-1 at the end of the first period.
Things tightened up in the second, but the Pirates still held an 8-6 lead at intermission.
The VC defense tightened up in the second half, as they held SMC scoreless for over 12 minutes of play. Offensively, Reardon and Jake Peters each found the inside of the cage twice in the third period as Ventura opened up a 12-6 lead heading to the final eight minutes of play.
Ventura added three more goals early in the final quarter for a 15-6 margin before SMC finally got back on the board with 3:05 remaining in the contest.
Reardon added three assists and three steals to his stat line while Robles had one helper and a theft defensively. Brunk scored twice with three assists, three steals and two drawn exclusions and Peters recorded two goals, two assists and two steals. Trevor Campbell scored twice as did Zach Ziegler. Daniel Mclean had five saves, three blocks and two steals in the cage.
Ventura continues Western State Conference play on Wednesday Oct. 16 at Los Angeles Valley College. The game begins at 3:00 pm in Valley Glen.