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GAME 4: (1S) Golden West 12, (2S) L.A Valley 10 (Championship)
SARATOGA - L.A. Valley put together a strong first quarter to slow top-ranked Golden West College but in the end it was the Rustlers - behind six goals from Manuel Agosto - getting the upper hand as they beat the Monarchs, 12-10, on Saturday to win their third straight CCCAA Men's Water Polo Championship at West Valley College. Golden West (26-1) captured its 26th state championship overall, the most of any CCCAA program.

Tournament MVP Peyton Collins added three goals for the Rustlers while Cody Ingram, Nicky Ure and Matija Jancic each added one. L.A. Valley (25-6), which was in search of its first state championship, was paced by a three goals from freshman Davo Arakelyan. Carson Arnett and Aram Nordanyan each added a pair while Luis Brunner and Haik Gukasyan each had one.

The Monarchs came ready to play on Saturday, wasting no time getting on the scoreboard, drawing an exclusion against the Rustlers' Nicky Ure just 35 seconds into the game and converting it into a score by Sukisyan. Arnett and Gukasyan then scored over the next 2-1/2 minutes to give L.A. Valley an eye-opening 3-0 lead over the two-time defending champions. Ure's goal midway through the period got Golden West on the scoreboard and helped then only trail 4-2 going into the second. 

Agosto then went to work in over the next eight minutes, tallying three goals over a three-minute span as Golden West caught L.A. Valley just before halftime, tying the game, 5-5. The Rustler's took their first lead with 1:47 left in the third on Ingram's goal with Agosta tacking on another just 40 seconds later to give them a two-goal advantage, 9-7. Arnett's goal with just five ticks left made it 9-7, setting up an exciting fourth quarter.

The teams exchanged goals, starting with Collins' score two minutes in, as Golden West was able to keep at least one goal between it and L.A. Valley. Arakelyan's score with 2:04 remaining brought the Monarchs to within, 11-10, but Agosto scored an important insurance goal with 1:23 left to provide the final margin.

"The team did a great job this season," remarked Coach Scott Taylor to gwcathletics.com after the game. "Our staff is proud of the efforts and progress throughout the fall. It's very difficult to beat a team mulitple times in a season. L.A. Valley gave us all we could handle. Go Rustlers!" 

Golden West has won six state championships since 2011.

Golden West (26-1)     2   3   4   3   - 12
L.A. Valley (25-6)        4   3   1   2   -  10
   SCORING - GW: Manuel Agosto 6. Peyton Collins 3, Cody Ingram 1, Nicky Ure, Matija Jancic 1. LA: Davo Arakeylan 3, Carson Arnett 2, Aram Nordanya 2, Luis Brunner 1, Haik Gukasyan 1.
   SAVES - GW: NA. LA: NA.

GAME 3: (1N) West Valley 12, (2N) Merced 10 (Third Place)
The West Valley men's water polo team outscored Merced 6-3 in the third quarter, erasing a 5-4 halftime deficit, to capture the third-place trophy at Saturday's CCCAA Men's Water Polo State Championships at the West Valley Aquatic Center.

The 12-10 win was the Vikings' fourth of the year against the Coast Conference rival Blue Devils and capped a 23-6 season. Enrico De Munno found the back of the net twice in the third on is way to a team-high four goals. Francisco Vargas, Xavier Domingo and Janet Hernandez had two goals apiece, and Kevan Auger and Nick Butelet each scored one. Keeper Marko Kruska turned away 11 Devil shots. State scoring leader Connor Norton led Merced with six goals. 

Merced (27-8)          2   3   3   2   -  10
L.A. Valley (25-6)     2   2   6   2   -  12
   SCORING - MC: Connor Norton 6, Tristan Howard 2, Elias Marquez 1, Jeff Runyan 1. WV: NA
   SAVES - MC: P.J. Ornelas 3, Logan Friesen 5. NA. WVC: NA.

GAME 2: (1S) Golden West 11, (2N) Merced 2
Golden West advanced to its 16th championship game since 2000 with a methodical 11-2 win over Merced in a semifinal of the 2018 CCCAA Men’s Water Polo State Championships in Saratoga. The Rustlers (25-1) will take on L.A. Valley (25-5) in an all-south final at 10:45 a.m. Saturday. Merced (27-7) goes up against Coast Conference rival West Valley (22-6) in the third-place game at 12:30 p.m..

After goals from Peyton Collins, Manuel Agosto and Micah Kamai staked the Rustlers to a 3-1 first quarter lead, the south’s top seed held the Blue Devils scoreless in the second and third periods. Agosto netted a pair of goals in the second and a solo score in the third to lead Golden West to an 8-1 advantage heading to the final stanza. Agosto added his fifth tally of the game in the fourth, while Nick Ure and Brayden Kamai each found the back of the net once.

State scoring leader Connor Norton led the Blue Devils with a pair of goals and Tristan Howard came up with a fourth quarter score.

Golden West (25-1)  3   3   2   3   - 11
Merced (27-7)           1   0   0   2   -  3
   SCORING - GW: Manuel Agosto 3, Peyton Collins 2, Taylor Lungu 1, Nick Ure 1, Brayden Kamai 1, Micah Kamai 1. MC: Connor Norton 2, Tristan Howard 1.
   SAVES - GW: Andrew Cameron 3, Spencer Tybur 1. MC: Logan Friesen 4, P.J. Ornelas 1.

GAME 1: (2N) L.A. Valley 10, (1N) West Valley 8
Luis Brunner and Haik Gukasyan scored consecutive goals inside the final four minutes on Friday afternoon, helping L.A. Valley break and 8-8 tie with West Valley as the Monarch downed the Vikings, 10-8, in a semifinal to advance to the 2018 CCCAA Men's Water Polo State Championship game on Saturday.

L.A. Valley, the south's No. 2 seed, will be looking for its first-ever men's water polo title after turning back West Valley, which was in search of its first banner since 2010. Brunner led the Monarchs with three goals while Enrico De Munno, Aisael Andino and Xavier Domingo each had two for the Vikings.

The teams were locked 4-4 at the end of the first quarter but thanks to goals from Domingo and De Munno, L.A. Valley took a 6-5 advantage into halftime. Arthur Sefayan and Matt Epstein scored for the Monarchs in the third period while the defense held the Vikings without a goal to help L.A. Valley to a 7-6 advantage. Nicolas Butelet tied the game, 7-7, for West Valley early in the fourth quarter and the teams exchanged goals over the next two minutes before Brunner and Guksayan provided the final margin. Brunner's goal came with 3:38 to play while Guksayan scored with just 1:18 on the clock.