Ventura water polo makes a splash winning first round of CIF

On a chilly November evening at Ventura High School, varsity boys water polo played against San Marcos High School at 3:15pm in the VHS pool, winning their first round of CIF.
Right before the game began, each senior boy had their name announced and were spoken about positively by Coach McGrath, while being greeted by their parents and guardians to receive a bouquet of flowers.

When the first quarter began, the varsity boys were off to a rough start. The Cougars were behind with San Marcos leading the game with a score of 2-0. However, San Marcos didn’t stay in the lead for long. Ventura got back on their feet right away and scored a few goals, building the score a tie of 2-2. At the start of the second quarter, senior Evan Moore assisted his teammate junior Dylan Nicodemus with the ball. Nicodemus then scored, putting Ventura in the lead 3-2.
As the competitive game continued, senior and goalie Arlo Berger blocked a shot, saving the cougars from defeat. Berger commented, “We were down the first quarter and when we started to come back, it was cool. I had a few good blocks in the second quarter so that’s always a highlight. I also stared down a kid so that was fun.”
As half time ended and third quarter began, the score was 4-3 with Ventura still in the lead but San Marcos close behind. Within minutes, both teams scored on each other but Ventura still held the lead with a score of 6-4.
Six minutes into the third quarter, the tension continued to rise when senior Ilia Pilic scored a goal with an assist by senior Evan Moore. Pilic commented, “My goal was sensational.”

Ventura continued to stay in the lead while both teams continued to score points. Finally, the fourth and final quarter, with two minutes and fifty-seven seconds on the clock, Senior Micah Amico assisted the ball to senior Evan Moore who then scored another point for the cougars.
The final quarter was concluded and Ventura officially won their first round of CIF. When asked about how the game went, senior Micah Amico stated, “It was a great game against San Marcos. It was a well fought game, and really close in the beginning, but we played as a team and came out with a win towards the end.”