Pirates Come Back With Two Wins at Cuesta Tournament

The Pirates' men's water polo team turned things around with a convincing 18-6 win over Ohlone and an 11-9 come-from-behind victory over Las Positas Saturday in San Luis Obispo at the Cuesta Tournament. Andre Galvez once again led the Prates offensively with 11 goals on the day while Anthony Ibarra netted seven goals and Zane Herman scored three with seven assists. Jaeger Gonzales recorded 21 saves.

Ventrua 18, Ohlone 6

The Renegades jumped out the the early lead with a goal midway through the opening period and Galvez netted the equalizer at the 3:23 mark. After Ohlone scored another goal, Joseph Lowry found the inside of the cage for a 2-2 tie at the quarter break.

The Pirates took control in the second quarter with a six-goal explosion. Brayden Lauritzen gave the Pirates the lead with 5:05 on the clock and Herman followed soon thereafter with another score. Ibarra scored three straight goals before Janson Cunningham found the next in the closing seconds of the half for an 8-2 lead.

Ventura continued to ride the momentum in the third period, outscoring Ohlone 6-3 before outscoring the Renegades 4-1 in the final stanza for the convincing 18-6 triumph.

Ibarra led VC with six goals while Galvez scored five with three assists, three steals and three drawn ejections. Herman finished with two scores and four assists and Alexis Nava also scored two goals with a pair of helpers and two steals. Brandon Plasch had a goal with two assists and two steals and Lauritzen added four thefts.

Ventura 11, Las Positas 9

The Pirates netted three goals in the final period and held the Hawks scoreless for the final nine minutes of the game to come away with the 11-9 victory.

The back-and-forth game started with a Cunningham goal and a 1-0 Pirate lead. Las Positas came back with a pair of scores before Nava, Herman and Ibarra put together consecutive goals to put VC back ahead 4-3 at the quarter break.

Lowry started the second period with a goal and a 5-3 Ventura edge before the Hawks came storming back. Las Positas scored the next three goals and went into halftime ahead of Ventura 6-5.

The second half belonged to Galvez for Ventura. He scored twice after a Hawk goal to tie the contest at 7-7 with 4:09 remaining in the third period and scored again to briefly put VC ahead 8-7. Las Positas then scored two goals to finish the stanza ahead 9-8.

Galvez found the inside of the cage with 7:06 left on the game to tie the score for the sixth and final time in the game, and he scored again a minute later to put the Pirates ahead for good. While the VC defense anchored by Gonzales held fast, Galvez netted an insurance goal with 3:34 remaining to set the 11-9 final margin.

Galvez scored six second-half goals to lead Ventura and Herman had three assists with two steals and a score. Nava handed out a pair of helpers with two field blocks and a goal while Gonzales was key in the cage with 15 saves and three assists.

Ventura (4-17, 2-1) will host Los Angeles Valley on Tuesday Oct. 19 at 2:00 pm for their final home game of the season.