The VC women's water polo team had a great effort Saturday in Thousand Oaks, pushing 2021 SCIAC champion Cal Lutheran before falling 15-9 to the Regals. Fiona Watkins scored four goals with two assists and two steals against the NCAA Division III team and Lauren Mora had three scores to lead the Pirates (14-4, 3-1). Katie Falls recorded eight saves in the cage with the four-year school.
The Pirates went up early in the game on goals by Watkins and Mora before the Regals clawed back to tie the score. Mora scored again with 1:32 remaining in the first period before CLU knotted the score at 3-3 at the quarter break.
Cal Lu took control in the second quarter, however, scoring three straight times before Megan Findlay found the inside of the cage for VC at the 3:14 mark. The Regals then netted three more goals in the final 1:20 of the period to hold a 9-4 advantage at halftime.
Watkins and More each scored in the opening two minutes of the third stanza to close the gap, but the Regals responded and led 12-8 headed to the final eight minutes.
Another Mora goal brought Ventura to within 12-9 with 4:09 remaining in the game, but the Pirates could get no closer in the 14-9 decision.
Findlay finished with a pair of goals for VC and Anna Lowe recorded three assists in the game. Sierra Cameron had a pair of helpers while Kiran Shah pulled in six steals.
The Pirates complete regular season Western State Conference play on Wednesday Oct. 20 against Citrus. The opening sprint is scheduled for 2:00 pm at the Ventura Aquatic Center.