One of the most successful women's water polo seasons n school history cam to a close Friday as the Pirates dropped a 15-10 decision to No. 2-seed Fullerton in the SoCal Regional Quarterfinals in Huntington Beach. Maeve Flynn had four goals to lead the Pirates (24-9) and Paige Treloar-Ballard netted three scores with two steals.
After the Hornets took a 1-0 lead on the opening possession, Lauren Wiksell netted the equalizer on an assist from Beth Arbon with 7:01 still remaining in the first period. Fullerton took control at that point, scoring the next four goals. Flynn scored with 1:39 on the clock with a helper from Ylva Ostlin, but FC got another score to lead 6-2 after the opening stanza.
Treloar-Ballard and Ostlin scored in the second quarter to keep the Pirates, seeded No. 7 in the draw, within striking distance at halftime, 9-4.
VC's hopes of pulling the upset were dashed in the third quarter as Fullerton blanked the Pirates while scoring four goals to go ahead 13-4 with the final eight minutes remaining.
Ventura kept up the fight, however, outscoring the Hornets 6-2 in the fourth quarter. Flynn scored three times in the period, and Treloar-Ballard added two scores to her school records for goals in a season and goals in a career. Kalyn Pina netted VC's final goal to make the margin 15-10.
Goalies Valeria Ramirez and Devon Compton each had six saves in the game while Brittany Camp and Arbon each had two assists. Wiksell also had two helpers to add to her school single-season assist record. Arbon had three steals while Kelsey Golden added two thefts.
Ventura Closes the season with a record of 24-9, the highest win total in the 17-year tenure of head coach Mary Giles, and the second highest win total in program history.