2023 Ventura College Men's Water Polo Team News
The Ventura College Athletic Department claimed its 14th Top-13 finish in 19 years, placing 13th in California in the 2023-24 all-sports National Association of Two-Year College Athletic Administrators (NATYCAA) Cup standings. Pirate Athletics totaled 106 points overall, besting its 105.5 points earned in 2022-23 that placed 12th. Ventura was also 17th for the second straight year in the Daktronics Cup Standings with two-years schools from California, Oregon and Washington.
The Ventura College Athletic Department is proud to announce the transfer of 71 student athletes to four-year schools following their time with the Pirates. 48 of those transfers plan to continue their sport with 34 earning athletic scholarships. The VC class of 2024 will transfer to 48 different schools in 19 different states across the country. Additionally, 17 of the Pirate alumni have earned academic scholarships at their new schools.
The 2023 All-Western State Conference men's water polo awards have been released with Pirates Owen Cugnoni and Scott Wagner headlining the first team award winners for Ventura. Meanwhile, Michael Soho and Sebastian Cornejo were named second team All-WSC by the conference coaches and Thomas Vels and Matthew Ogonowski earned honorable mention honors.
The VC men's water polo team's string of October success ran out in November as the Pirates dropped their final two games of the season in the Western State Conference Tournament at Los Angeles Valley Friday and Saturday. Ventura, the no. 4-seed in the draw, fell to No. 1 Cuesta in the semifinals before dropping a decision to No. 3 Citrus in the third-place game. Owen Cugnoni had five goals and three drawn exclusions over the weekend while Scott Wagner scored twice with three assists, two drawn exclusions and three steals.
The Pirates' men's water polo team easily advanced past the quarterfinal round of the Western State Conference Tournament Wednesday with a 23-9 win over Santa Monica at Rio Mesa High School. Owen Cugnoni was on fire with nine goals, three drawn exclusions and two steals and Michael Soho added four scores with two assists. Goalie Stephen McNaughten had seven saves in the cage to anchor the VC defense.
The VC men's water polo team completed at the Día de los Muertos Tournament Saturday with wins over San Diego Miramar and Grossmont. The victories allowed VC to leave San Diego with a perfect 4-0 weekend and stretch their winning streak to five games. Owen Cugnoni scored another 10 goals in the two games while Michael Soho netted six scores. Stephen McNaughten recorded 14 saves in the cage on the day.
The VC men's water polo team came alive Friday at the Día de los Muertos Tournament in Chula Vista with a pair of victories. The Pirates held on to defeat Palomar in the first game of the day before coming back in the fourth quarter to beat host Southwestern, 21-18. Owen Cugnoni had a stellar day with 13 goals and four drawn exclusions while Scott Wagner found the inside of the cage seven times. Michael Soho added five goals in the two games.
The Pirates' men's water polo team honored its sophomore class in style on Wednesday with a 16-7 victory over Santa Monica at the Ventura Aquatic Center. Sophomores Sebastian Cornejo and Thomas Vels scored four and three goals, respectively, and Owen Cugnoni led the way with five scores as VC (6-12, 1-3) clinched the No. 4-seed in next week's Western State Conference Tournament.
The VC men's water polo team outscored El Camino 6-0 in the fourth quarter Friday to defeat the Warriors 13-8 in their first game of the Eduard “Tuna” Gorodetsky Mini at Santa Monica. In the nightcap, the Pirates dropped a hard-fought 10-6 decision to Palomar. Owen Cugnoni had seven goals on the day, including four in the decisive final stanza against ElCo and Scott Wagner found the inside of the cage five times on the day.
The VC men's water polo team played a strong first half Wednesday at Citrus, but could not keep the momentum in their 11-5 defeat against the Owls. Ventura and Citrus were tied 4-4 at halftime before the Pirates were outscored 7-1 after intermission. Michael Soho and Owen Cugnoni each scored a pair of goals for VC and Matthew Ogonowski scored the other.
The VC men's water polo team held off El Camino late to hold on to a 13-12 victory in the finale of the Santa Monica Mini Friday. Owen Cugnoni , Michael Soho and Ryan Webb each scored three goals in the victory and Shawn Coyner had six saves in the cage in the win. Earlier in the day, the Pirates dropped a 19-12 decision to Cypress.
The VC men's water polo team kept their game with visiting Los Angeles Valley close for a half before succumbing to the Monarchs 18-8 Wednesday at the Ventura Aquatic Center. The Pirates were tied after one quarter and trailed 8-6 at halftime. Owen Cugnoni scored four goals to lead VC and Scott Wagner had three. Thomas Vels had the other goal for the Pirates.
The VC men's water polo team got back in the win column with a resounding 19-3 victory over Fullerton Friday at the Cerritos Mini Tournament. They followed that up with a hard fought setback against the host Falcons for a split on the day. Owen Cugnoni had eight goals and Michael Soho scored five to lead the Pirates. Kyle Wagner handed out four assists in the two games.
The Ventura College men's water polo team dropped its Western State Conference opener at Cuesta 19-4 Wednesday afternoon in San Luis Obispo. Owen Cugnoni had a pair of goals while Scott Wagner and Sebastian Ayala also scored for the Pirates.
The VC men's water polo team had a solid effort against Grossmont Thursday afternoon at the Ventura Aquatic Center, falling to the Griffins 19-15. Owen Cugnoni had five goals and three drawn ejections in the game while Scott Wagner netted four scores with for assists and five drawn ejections. Ryan Webb recorded three goals with a pair of steals defensively.
The VC men's water polo team dropped a pair of decisions Saturday to close out the Golden West Tournament in Huntington Beach. The Pirates fell to the host Rustlers in the opener before losing to American River in the tournament finale. Owen Cugnoni had five goals with a pair of drawn ejections on the day while Scott Wagner had a goal with three drawn ejections and three steals in the two games.
