No. 6 Citrus men's water polo squeezes Ventura before showdown with No. 3 L.A. Valley

CCCAA Men's Water Polo Standings l Scoreboard l Rankings

GLENDORA, Calif. - After falling short at the 2017 Lancer Invite, the Citrus College men's water polo team regained its vanquishing momentum as the Owls defeated the Ventura College Pirates in a 17-7 victory at home last week. The match was a conference game and with the win, the Owls upped their conference record to 2-0, putting them in the first place slot. Citrus also enhanced their overall season record to a paramount 16-3. 

The story of this match up was a little different compared to past games that the Owls have played this season. It is not uncommon to expect Citrus star utility player, Johnathan Wong, to be the lead player of the game. Certainly, Wong helped the team offensively with 3 goals, 5 assists, and 3 drawn exclusions, but it was Mark Naranjo who stepped up and played a big role in leading the team to a victory. Naranjo carried himself with a great amount of poise throughout the game, as he netted 5 goals and helped get his team involved with 2 assists. On the defensive end, both Noah Foncier and Keith Green were solid in creating turnovers for the Owls as they each took home 3 steals and made their presence felt. Goalie Spencer Norconk's performance in the net added to the Owl's defensive front, as Norconk faced 18 shots from the Pirates, saving 11 of those shots, and allowing 7 of those shots throughout the 4 quarters of the game. 

Citrus has undoubtedly proven that they are a force to be reckoned within the Western State Conference. The Owls find themselves in a position to prove their worth in their next match-up against the second place team in conference, LA Valley College. In what could eventually become the most important game of the season for the Owls, Citrus will face off against the Monarchs in an away game Wednesday at 3 p.m.