San Louis Obispo, Calif. - Golden West men's water polo team returned from Cuesta College's weekend tournament 5 for 5 in the win column.
The men first took on the host team Cuesta College, defeating the cougars 14-6. Leading in scoring for the Rustlers was sophomore Ciaran Wolohan with 4 goals and freshman Connor Paterson added his own hat trick to the score. In the net for Golden West, Nick Dale had 3 saves in the first half, with Taylor Miller stopping 5 in the second half.
The Rustlers then faced off with American River College, running the score up 5-0 in the first quarter. By halftime Golden West let 2 ARC goals slip by while the defending CCCAA State champions had 10 on the scoreboard. The final score for Golden West's second game of the day was 14-6.
On Friday, the Rustlers met up with against Diablo Valley College. The Vikings were able to put up 2 goals before the Rustlers were able to respond. Golden West quickly knotted the score halfway into the first quarter. The Rustlers slowly pulled away from the Vikings with a 12-8 lead midway into the fourth quarter, DVC ended the game scoring two more times on the Rustlers where the game ended in a close 12-10. Wolohan put up 5 points, with Dalton Kenefick and Botond Kadar each netting 3. On Rustler defense, Mitchell Holden had 3 steals and Jerry Kittlitz grabbed 2.
The Rustlers found the back of the net 15 times before the end of their game against West Valley College. Kadar and Wolohan led the way with 7 combined goals, with seven of their teammates scoring on the Vikings as well. Bryse Knowles was in the net with 4 saves.
The last game of the weekend was a rematch of the two top teams of 2014, with Golden West proving they are still on top with a 8-6 victory. Long Beach City College's defense kept the Rustlers from running up the score early but it was the Rustlers' teamwork that would prove to be winning element over the two powerhouse teams.
Next: The men travel to Delta College and University of the Pacific for more Northern California contests.
