The Pirates' men's water polo had a strong first quarter in San Luis Obispo Wednesday, but were unable to sustain the effort at Cuesta College, dropping the Western State Conference match, 20-6. Dominic Tassano and Daniel Amorim each scored two goals for VC.
Ventura (3-15, 0-2) took an early 3-2 lead in the first eight minutes, but defensive let downs and unfortunate penalties aided the Cougars to an 8-5 halftime advantage. Cuesta got the break going in the second half and ran away with the match for the 20-6 win.
Tassano and Amorim led the Pirate offense while Keaton Hess and Trevor Edwards also netted a goal each. J'son Ruiz recorded six saves in the cage.
The Pirates will host Citrus on Wednesday Oct. 22 at 2:15 at the Ventura Aquatic Center.