Pirates Fall in Two Close Matches at RCC

The Pirates' women's water polo team fell in a pair of close matches on the first day of the Riverside Tournament.  VC fell to Long Beach 12-10 in the opener before dropping a 7-6 decision to Cerritos. Lauren Wiksell had eight goals on the day for Ventura (4-3) and Maeve Flynn scored three times in the two matches.

Ventura 10, Long Beach 12
A slow second quarter cost the Pirates in the close match against the Vikings.  Long Beach outscored VC 5-1 in the second period to take control of the match, 8-3 at halftime.  The Pirates came out strong in the third, reversing the margin against LBCC, but remained down 9-8 after three quarters of play.  Wiksell had five goals for the orange and black along with an assist and a steal. Ylva Ostlin found the net twice with two drawn ejections and Paige Treloar-Ballard had a goal with an assist and three steals.  Flynn scored a goal with four drawn ejections.

Ventura 6, Cerritos 7
Ventura had the lead heading into the final period but could not hold on against the Falcons in the seesaw affair. VC led 1-0 at the end of the first quarter and the match was tied at halftime, 3-3. The Pirates led 5-4 headed into the final period, and stretched the advantage to 6-4 but could not hold on. Wiksell netted three scores with a steal and Flynn scored two goals with a pair of thefts. Devon Compton had four saves in goal. 

Ventura continues play at the Riverside Tournament on Saturday Sept. 17 with matches against the host Tigers and Chaffey College.  The Pirates continue Western State Conference play on Wednesday Sept. 21 at Los Angeles Pierce.