Owls Win Home Hosted Tournament for Second Straight Season

Glendora, CA -- The Citrus College Men's Water Polo program won their annual home hosted tournament for the second straight year on Saturday afternoon. The Owls opened up the second and final day of competition with a 16-7 win over Ventura College before dropping Mt. San Antonio College 16-9 in the Championship Game for the second straight day.

In the opener, the Owls immediately grabbed a hold of the game. Citrus outscored the Pirates 8-1 in the first quarter and 4-0 in the second to open up a 12-1 lead at the break. Ventura would close the gap some in the third with a 5-2 spurt, but Citrus closed the game out by scoring twice and holding Ventura to a single goal in the fourth en route to the nine goal win.

In the win, sophomores Brandt Restad, Jonathan Lotero, Mark Cordts and freshman Daniel Velasquez al had three goals each. Restad added two assists, while freshman Mark Naranjo handed out four. Velasquez would swipe a team high four steals, while sophomore Brad Thomson stopped 12 Pirate shots.

In the closing contest, Citrus got the Mounties best shot. The Owls edged Mt. SAC 3-2 in the first quarter, before creating a little distance in the second with a 4-1 quarter that put the Owls up 7-3 at the break. The Mounties would gain a goal on Citrus in the third with a 4-3 quarter, but the Owls put the game away in the fourth with six more goals to Mt. SAC's two en route to the seven point victory.

Cordts and Naranjo would pump in four goals each. NAranjo and Lotero tied for the lead in assists with a pair a piece, while Restad had two steals. Thomson closed out the weekend with nine saves in the final contest.

With the two wins, Citrus improves to 5-1 on the year. The Owls will be on the road this Wednesday when they travel east on the 210 freeway to take on NCAA DIII University of La Verne. That match is set for a 4:00 PM stat in La Verne.