Water Polo Drops Conference Debut Against Ventura, 25-13

Citrus College Men's Water Polo dropped its first conference game of the season on Tuesday, falling 25-13 to Ventura College at home.

The Owls sit at 3-7 overall and 0-1 in conference play, while the Pirates improve to 9-5 and 1-0.

Citrus kept things close early, trailing just 8-4 after the opening quarter. Ventura broke the game open in the second frame, outscoring the Owls 7-1 to take a 15-5 halftime lead. The Pirates maintained control the rest of the way, adding 10 more goals in the second half to seal the win.

Sophomore Liam Ross paced the Owls' offense with six goals on 10 shots, four assists, two exclusions drawn, and a steal. Morrison Villa added four goals on six attempts along with a steal, block, and drawn exclusion. Trace Faskell tallied three goals, dished out a team-high six assists, and matched the game high with four steals to go with a block. Freshman goalie Jason Nonis finished with eight saves, four steals, and two assists against 33 shots faced.

The Owls return to action this Friday, October 3, at the Cerritos College Mini Tournament, opening against the host Falcons at 8:30 a.m. before facing San Diego Mesa later in the day.