Huntington Beach, Calif. - Golden West men's water polo (13-1, 1-0 OEC) competed in the Cuesta College Tournament and collected five wins in the three-day event.
9/21/2023 vs LA Valley, 15-3
For their first matchup of the tournament, the Rustlers defeated the Monarchs, 15-3. Golden West held LA Valley scoreless in the first quarter as they took a three goal lead. Before halftime, the Rustlers extended their lead to 7-1. The Monarchs managed to score two more goals in the third quarter, but it was not enough to keep up with Golden West offense as the Rustlers won their first appearance in the tournament.
The scoring was shared amongst the team with goals from up and down the roster. Freshman Tomas De Luca scored twice, contributed an assist and had a steal. Nathaniel Xavier Turla scored two goals and had a steal in the game. In net, Mariano Galvez played in two quarters and had five saves while Narek Abedian participated in the other two quarters to save three.
9/22/2023 vs Merced, 22-2
On the second day of the tournament, Golden West was set to open play against Merced. The Rustlers flexed their strengths against the Bobcats as they held them scoreless in the first quarter. Golden West was able to find the net 13 times before half and only allowed one goal from Merced. After half, the Rustlers tallied an additional nine goals and held the Bobcats to one. Golden West would go on to control the pace of play and defeat Merced, 22-2.
Justin Hermara had the most goals for the Rustlers as he netted three from five shots and stole the ball twice. Antonio Doria was all over as he scored twice, assisted three times and collected three steals. Jose Antonio Silva recorded five saves off of seven Bobcat shots in four quarters.
9/22/2023 vs Mt. San Antonio, 17-11
In their third matchup of the weekend, the Rustlers competed against Mt. Sac in a back and forth game. The Mounties put pressure on Golden West throughout the game and did not let up. The Rustlers came out strong with four unanswered goals but Mt. Sac was able to net two before the end of the first quarter. Into the second frame, the Mounties would tie it 4-4 as Golden West looked to take back control. Just before half, the Rustlers would find the net for three unanswered goals to lead at half, 8-5.
Golden West separated after halftime, but with some resistance from Mt. Sac the Rustlers would outscore their opponent 9-6 in the second half and take the victory, 17-11. Mason Merritt put heavy pressure on the Mounties net with his five shots with four being goals. Itay Roth scored three times, had two steals and an assist. Pablo Souza saved two in the first half while Braeden Sanders saved seven shots in the second half.
NEXT UP: The Rustlers will continue the Cuesta College Tournament on Saturday, September 23rd. Golden West will compete against Long Beach City College and America River.
