Ventura, CA (Men’s Water Polo) – The Citrus College Men’s Water Polo team’s 2006 campaign came to end Saturday as they faced two tough losses in the WSC tournament. The Owl’s fought hard, and almost pulled off two upsets, but in the end the Owl’s were sent home with their heads high proud of what they had accomplished.
The 1st game of the weekend saw the Owl’s face Santa Monica in a play in game for the right to face #1 seed Cuesta College. The Fighting Owl’s easily pushed aside the Corsairs 16-5. Connor Ruggio led all scorers with 4 goals. Joseph Rasich and Douglas Moore each chipped in with 3 goals apiece.
After displacing Santa Monica, the Owl’s faced a looming giant in the #1 seed Cuesta College. The Owl’s fought hard but weren’t able to pull off the game losing 12-14. Gamal Rady led all scorers with 4, while Ruggio and Moore each had 3 goals. Goalie Tony Pearson gobbled up 14 saves, but the Owl’s had to settle for a chance to win 3rd place as they would go on to face LA Valley.
The 3rd game would prove to be the closest fought contest as both Citrus and LA Valley were tied at 9 a piece with less than 30 seconds left to play in the contest. LA Valley would strike in that short time frame at put themselves up 10-9, beating out the Owl’s with that last second goal. Ruggio had 4 goals, and Zach Perez and Rady each had 2 apiece.
The Owl’s finished in 4th place for the conference tournament and, finished the season with a record of 13-18 and 2-5 in WSC play.