Men's Water Polo Off to Slow Start at Cuesta Tournament

The Priates' men's water polo team go off to a slow start at the Cuesta Tournament in San Luis Obispo Friday.  VC (16-8, 3-1) fell to Cuesta in the opener in their final regular season conference match before falling to a 8-7 decision against Merced. The Pirates finished up strong, however, with a 19-18 overtime win over Cabrillo in the nightcap.  CJ Daland scored seven goals on the day for the Pirates.

Ventura 3, Cuesta 13
VC got off to a slow start to their big weekend in San Luis Obispo in their 13-3 loss to the Cougars. Coby Wiegman was the only Pirate to find the back of the net with three goals.  Mitch Caldwell, Kevin Smallwood and Daland all had two steals each for Ventura, who trailed 11-0 before scoring with 5:08 remaining in the game.  With the loss, the Pirates will be relegated to the No. 2 seed in the Western State Conference next month at Cuesta.

Ventura 7, Merced 8
The Pirates tied the score at 3-3 early in the second quarter with a goal by Daland, but could not take the lead against the Blue Devils.  Merced led 6-3 at halftime and never trailed in the second half. Daland and Chandler Cole each had two goals for the Pirates while Wiegman and Kyle Goodrich each had one assist. The normally strong Pirate defense was limited to one steal in the game.

Ventura 18, Cabrillo 17 (OT)
Ventura salvaged the first day of the tournament with a thrilling 19-18 overtime victory over Cabrillo. Daland le dwih five scores and Raleigh Mendez recorded four goals.  Goodrich found the net three times, including twice in the etra periods for the game-winner.    

Ventura concludes play in the Cuesta Tournament with a pair of games Saturday Oct. 15.  VC takes on Ohlone at 7:00 am before playing Sierra at 1:30pm in the tournament finale.