Men's Polo Faces Tough Tests at Mt. SAC Tourney

The VC men's water polo team faced some tough competition at the Mt. San Antonio Tournament Friday and Saturday, dropping the first two contests on Day 1 before pulling out a pair of wins on Day 2.

In the first game, the Pirates fell to No. 1-ranked Golden West 17-7. Evan Augusta scored twice on the day with a pair of steals while Owen Patterson netted one goal with an assist and one drawn ejection. Daniel Vadas found the inside of the cage once against the Rustlers with an assist and two steals and Brayden Black also scored a goal with one helper. Nico Rosado recorded a goal and two ejections drawn and Milos Djanic rounded out the scoring for the Pirates. Wyatt Dingman handed out a pair of assists and Patrik Bötkös drew three ejections with a steal. Bryce Biglin recorded 13 saves in the cage.

The Pirates jumped from the Fire back into the frying pan in Friday's nightcap, taking on No. 2-ranked West Valley. VC dropped the match-up with the Vikings 17-9. Ventura was close at halftime, trailing 8-5 before being outscored 6-2 in the third period. Patterson led the way with three scores and three ejections drawn while Dingman netted a pair of goals. Vadas found the inside of the cage once with three assists, a steal and three drawn ejections and Augusta scored once with three steals and an ED. Bötkös was hard to handle with six ejections drawn to go along with one goal. Br. Biglin also scored a goal and contributed 19 saves in the cage.

Saturday, Ventura got back into the win column in the first game against Palomar. Bötkös and Augusta each scored three goals and Br. Biglin recorded 14 saves in the cage in the Pirates' 14-6 victory over the Comets. Patterson, Djanic and Rosado each netted a pair of scores. Black assisted three goals and Vadas dropped a pair of dimes offensively, while Djanic pulled in three steals in the defensive end of the pool. Bötkös drew four ejections and Rosado had three ED's.

VC earned another victory in the tournament finale, 21-7 against Chaffey. The Pirates jumped out to leads of 6-1 and 14-3 after the first two periods to bring home the win. Augusta led the onslaught with four goals against the Panthers while Boaz Biglin scored three times. Six different players each scored twice in the balanced attack. Goalie Br. Biglin had five passes that led to scores and he stopped 14 Chaffey shots in the cage. Wyatt Dingman dropped three dimes in the game to go along with his two goals. Vadas and Bo. Biglin totaled four and three steals, respectively, and Bötkös drew a pair of ejections.

The Pirates (85) will next open Western State Conference play on Wednesday Oct. 1 at Citrus.