West Valley men's water polo holds off Long Beach in Nyquist headliner
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
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3 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 12 |
Team Stats
3C2A Men's Water Polo Standings
SARATOGA - The 60th rendition of West Valley's Nyquist Invitational yielded an average final score of 18-8 over 16 games, clearly indicative of the early-season nature of the tournament. One game, however – West Valley's 12-9 win over Long Beach City – bucked that trend with a scintillating late-morning fray between two of the 3C2A's top squads.
Friday's "Battle of the Vikings" featured four ties, 28 exclusions, four penalties and a trio of minor misconducts. It was tight throughout and, while West Valley never trailed, their three-goal advantage at game's end was exceeded just once at 8-4 in the second.
The teams were deadlocked at 3-3 after one. Frederico Gulisano logged all three goals for LBCC (3-1), while WVC (6-0) countered with a pair of scores from Makar Salnikov and one from Peter Kohari.
Salnikov, as he did to start the game, opened the second with a goal on WVC's initial possession. LBCC's Ivan Cubelic made it 4-4 a minute later, but back-to-back tallies from WVC's Tristan Grimmet gave WVC a 6-4 advantage. WVC extended its lead to 8-4, but Gulisano found the back of the cage at 2:57 and :12 to make it 8-6 at the break.
Gulisano added another goal in the third, but one each from West Valley's Liam Rogers and Grimmet sent it to the fourth with WVC on top 10-7. Goals from Gulisano at 7:18 and Cubelic at 2:52 brought LBCC to within 10-9, but scores from Kohari (2:07) and Salnikov (1:26) clinched it for WVC.
Salnikov's four goals paced West Valley, while Grimmet finished with three and Kohari had two. Gulisano had a game-high seven and Cubelic two for LBCC.
West Valley finished the Nyquist 4-0, while Long Beach City went 3-1. Diablo Valley, Modesto and San Joaquin Delta all left Saratoga with 2-2 marks.
(Matt Folsom, CCCWPCA SID)
