The Ventura College women's water polo team, seeded No. 10, fell 7-6 to No. 7 Long Beach City in the first round of the Southern California regional playoffs today at Pasadena City College.

Emily Allen scored two goals and Carly Clark, Olivia Hernandez, Rachel Davis, Courtney Thomas added goals for the Pirates (18-5).

Sarah Agopian's second goal gave Long Beach a 7-5 lead with 1:06 to play as the Vikings never trailed.

Ventura goalie Marissa Herold made seven blocks.

Long Beach moves on to face No. 2 Cerritos (29-1) in Friday's quarterfinals.

The Ventura College women's water polo team (18-4) is the No. 10 seed in the Southern California regional playoffs.

The Western State Conference champion, Pirates will face No. 7 Long Beach City (22-6) Thursday afternoon in a regional first-round match at Pasadena City College.

Ventura did not face Long Beach this season, but did go 4-0 in its tournament in October.

The winner faces No. 2 Cerritos in the quarterfinals Friday at PCC.

Click the jump for the rest of the quarterfinal matchups.

Western State Conference standings through Monday, Nov. 9:

WSC VOLLEYBALL
NORTH WSC PCT. GF GA SEASON PCT.
Moorpark 7-0 1.000 21 2 17-1 .944
S Barbra 6-1 .857 19 4 17-2 .895
Ventura 3-4 .429 11 15 8-10 .444
Cuesta 3-4 .429 12 13 6-12 .333
Hancock 2-5 .286 6 16 6-10 .375
Oxnard 0-7 .000 2 21 5-9 .357

WSC MEN'S SOCCER
WSC POINTS SEASON
S Barbra 8-1-3 27 8-6-4
Canyons 8-3-1 25 11-6-1
Moorpark 7-4-1 22 9-6-2
Oxnard 6-3-3 21 10-5-4
LA Missn 6-3-3 21 9-7-3
Hancock 3-6-3 12 5-10-4
Glendale 2-9-1 7 4-13-2
Citrus 0-11-1 1 2-14-2

WSC WOMEN'S SOCCER
NORTH WSC PTS. SEASON
Moorpark 8-0-2 26 14-0-4
Ventura 6-1-1 19 13-3-1
S Barbra 4-2-2 14 9-3-6
Cuesta 3-4-1 10 4-10-3
Oxnard 2-8 6 3-14-1
Hancock 0-8 0 0-14

WSC MEN'S WATER POLO (FINAL)
STANDINGS WSC SEASON
Ventura (1) 4-0 19-4
Cuesta (2) 3-1 19-12
L.A. Valley (3) 1-3 10-16
Citrus (4) 2-2 14-15
Santa Monica (5) 0-4 1-21
WSC Championships: L.A. Valley 14, Santa Monica 10; Ventura 13, L.A. Valley 8; Cuesta 14, Citrus 7; L.A. Valley 10, Citrus 6 (3rd place); Ventura 13, Cuesta 6 (championship)

WSC WATER POLO (final)
TEAMS WSC SEASON
Ventura (1) 4-0 18-4
Citrus (2) 3-1 15-11
Cuesta (3) 2-2 12-19
Santa Monica (4) 1-3 7-18
L.A. Valley (5) 0-4 5-20
WSC Championships: Santa Monica 6, L.A. Valley 4; Ventura 16, Santa Monica 6; Citrus 10, Cuesta 6; Cuesta 19, Santa Monica 12 (3rd place); Ventura 7, Citrus 6 (championship)

Carly Clark scored four goals, Emily Allen scored two goals and Marissa Herold made 11 saves, including a point-blank save to preserve the win with 37 seconds left, as the Ventura College women's water polo team defended its Western State Conference title with a 7-6 win over Citrus Saturday afternoon at the WSC Championships at Los Angeles Valley College.

Ventura (17-4) awaits its Southern California regional playoff seeding Monday as WSC champion.

Two previous 13-8 wins over Citrus (14-10) meant nothing when the Owls opened up first quarter leads of 3-1 and 4-2.

"We knew if we could just hold on, we were better conditioned," said Ventura coach Mary Giles.

Citrus kept Ventura's leading scorer, Clark, off the scoreboard for the first 10 minutes.

"I was getting a little frustrated," said the Agoura High product. "It was physical out there."

But the Pirates used man-advantage situations to work their way back into the game.

"Once we started drawing ejections, we were able to set the tempo," said Clark.

Down 4-2 after one quarter, Ventura scored five of the next six goals to take a 7-5 lead with 4:57 left in the third quarter.

Clark and Allen each scored twice on the man advantage during that span.

Citrus star Meghan Turner, who had been held to a single goal in Ventura's previous two wins over the Owls, scored her fourth goal to pull Citrus within 7-6 with 4:27 to play in the third quarter.

The final 12 minutes became a swim meet as Ventura turned up the defense.

"It was swimming back and forth," said Clark.

"That's what we train for," said sophomore Mary Dugan.

Ventura sophomore Marissa Herold kept her net empty for the final 12:27, making a huge point-blank save with 37 seconds to play as Citrus pressed for an equalizer on the advantage.

"That was fabulous," said Giles. "What a storybook ending for her, and for us really."

"She saved us," said Clark.

A decisive few days for the fall season arrives this weekend.

Looking to defend their conference titles, the Ventura College men's and women's water polo teams will be the top seeds at this weekend's Western State Conference championships at Los Angeles Valley College.

The two teams went a combined 8-0 in WSC play. Both will face the winner of a preliminary march between host Valley and Santa Monica Friday.

The Ventura men (17-4), ranked No. 4 in the state, have won seven of its past eight games behind firepower like Spencer McGrath (52 goals, 20 assists), Mike Crowley (52 goals, 19 assists) and Tyler McClure (44 goals).

The Ventura women (16-4) have been led by the offense of sophomore Carly Clark, who has 91 goals, and the defense of sophomore Mary Dugan, who will defend high-scoring Citrus driver Meghan Turner should the two teams meet in Saturday's title game.

Turner has scored just one of her 72 goals in a pair of Ventura 13-8 wins over Citrus.

"We're pretty aware of what she can do," said Ventura coach Mary Giles. "We're really good defensively this year."

Two years after the Moorpark College women's soccer team ended cross-county rival Ventura's 10-year hole on the WSC North by clinching the title with a scoreless draw at the VC Sportsplex, the two teams will find themselves in the same place, in a similar situation Friday night at 5:30.

First-place Moorpark (13-0-3, 8-0-1) can clinch its second title in three years with a win or a draw. Second-place Ventura (13-3), 7-1) can top the table with a win.

"It's basically the same situation," said Ventura coach Steve Hoffman. "It's one of those games when you know you have to step up and do your thing.

"It's an interesting match. We know what we have to do. We have to go and try to win the game."

Moorpark earned its advantage with a 1-0 home win over Ventura on Oct. 13.

"I think we played pretty well the first time around, we just didn't finish in front of goal," said Hoffman. "We've got to deal with their speed and they defend awfully well."

The game features two of the high-scoring attackers in the state in Ventura's Jazmarae Strozier and Moorpark's Lindsey McClellan.

Strozier, the Buena High product whose father, Clint, played football for Moorpark, leads the state with 22 goals. Moorpark does not post its statistics.

"I think we're just going to play the best we can," said McClellan. "Hopefully it all works out."

The Moorpark College women's volleyball team (14-1, 6-0), ranked No. 4 in the state, can take a two-match lead in the WSC North if it extends its conference winning streak to 19 matches Tuesday at second-place Santa Barbara City (16-2, 5-1).

Five of the six local programs qualified for Saturday's Southern California cross-country championships at the familiar hilly course at Mount San Antonio College in Walnut.

Oxnard and Ventura college, which qualified both its men's and women's teams with solid finishes at last week's WSC Championships, is aiming for the Top 14 finishes that would mean a state meet berths.

"That would be really good," said Oxnard coach Gino Sharp. "It's difficult to just send one team."

Although like many local programs, the Pirates have been stricken by illness.

"It's a hard time of the year to keep everyone healthy, especially this year," said Ventura College coach Nancy Fredrickson. "It's gone through the entire team."

WSC Standings through Monday, Oct. 26:

WSC VOLLEYBALL
NORTH WSC PCT. GF GA SEASON PCT.
Moorpark 4-0 1.000 12 1 14-1 .933
Ventura 3-1 .750 9 6 8-7 .533
S Barbara 2-1 .667 7 3 13-2 .867
Cuesta 1-2 .333 5 6 4-10 .286
Hancock 1-3 .250 3 10 4-8 .333
Oxnard 0-4 .000 2 12 5-6 .455

SOUTH
Bakersfld 5-0 1.000 15 3 12-4 .750
Canyons 5-1 .833 16 4 12-6 .667
Glendale 4-1 .800 12 6 8-7 .533
Pierce 2-3 .400 8 10 6-12 .333
Citrus 2-3 .400 9 9 4-9 .308
S Monica 0-5 .000 2 15 2-10 .167
West L.A. 0-5 .000 0 15 0-9 .000

WSC MEN'S WATER POLO
WSC SEASON
Ventura 3-0 16-4
Cuesta 3-1 17-11
Citrus 1-2 12-13
LA Valley 1-2 8-14
S Monica 0-3 1-19

WSC WOMEN'S WATER POLO
WSC SEASON
Ventura 3-0 15-4
Citrus 2-1 13-10
Cuesta 2-2 11-17
Santa Monica 1-2 6-15
L.A. Valley 0-3 5-16

MEN'S SOCCER STANDINGS
WSC POINTS SEASON
S. Barbara 6-0-2 20 6-5-3
Canyons 6-2 18 9-5
L.A. Mission 4-2-2 14 7-6-2
Oxnard 4-3-1 13 8-5-2
Moorpark 4-4 12 6-6-1
Glendale 2-5-1 7 4-9-2
Hancock 1-4-3 6 3-8-4
Citrus 0-7-1 1 2-10-2

WSC WOMEN'S SOCCER
NORTH WSC PTS. SEASON
Moorpark 5-0-1 16 9-0-2
Ventura 5-1 15 11-3
S Barbara 3-1-2 11 8-2-5
Cuesta 2-3-1 7 3-8-3
Oxnard 1-5 3 2-11-1
Hancock 0-6 0 0-10

SOUTH WSC PTS. SEASON
Pierce 8-0 24 12-1-1
Santa Monica 5-1-2 17 8-2-5
Bakersfield 4-2-2 14 7-4-2
Canyons 3-2-3 12 5-6-4
L.A. Valley 4-4 12 6-7-1
Glendale 2-4-2 8 4-6-4
Citrus 1-6-1 4 3-9-3
L.A. Mission 0-8 0 2-11-1

Head coach Mary Giles might have her husband, Mike, to thank for one of the Ventura College women's water polo team's top players.

Carly Clark attended UC Santa Barbara straight out of Agoura High. After transferring back to Moorpark College, Clark was spotted at a local water polo game by Mike Giles.

"I owe him big time for that one," said Giles.

Clark entered last week with 41 goals and 11 assists to lead the Pirates (11-4), who improved to 3-0 in the Western State Conference mark by beating Citrus 13-9.

"She's a leader out there," said Mary Giles. "She directs a lot of the offense. She's amazingly positive."

Veterans Emily Allen and Mary Dugan are also important pieces. The 6-foot Allen had 18 goals, as well as providing solid hole set defense.

"She's a wall," said Giles.

Dugan is one of the team's most active players.

"She's ripped from head to toe," said Giles.

Another Marmonte League product, freshman Courtney Thomas (Westlake), is one of several players who provide production off the bench.

"We're a little deeper than I had thought we were going to be," said Giles.

Ventura needed it for Wednesday's trip to Glendora.

"It's always really hot and smoggy there," said Giles. "It makes it super competitive."

WSC Standings through Mon., Oct. 19:

WSC VOLLEYBALL
NORTH WSC PCT. GF GA SEASON PCT.
Moorpark 2-0 1.000 6 0 12-1 .923
S. Barbr. 1-0 1.000 3 0 12-1 .923
Ventura 1-1 .500 3 5 6-7 .462
Hancock 1-1 .500 3 4 4-6 .400
Cuesta 0-1 .000 2 3 3-9 .250
Oxnard 0-2 .000 1 6 5-4 .556
SOUTH
Bakersfld 3-0 1.000 9 2 10-4 .714
Canyons 3-1 .750 10 4 9-6 .600
Glendale 3-1 .750 9 4 7-7 .500
Citrus 2-1 .667 7 3 4-7 .364
Pierce 1-2 .333 4 7 5-11 .313
West L.A. 0-3 .000 0 9 0-7 .000
S Monica 0-4 .000 2 12 2-9 .182

WSC MEN'S WATER POLO
TEAMS WSC SEASON
Ventura 2-0 12-3
Cuesta 2-1 14-9
Citrus 1-1 10-10
LA Valley 1-1 6-11
S Monica 0-3 0-16

WSC WOMEN'S WATER POLO
TEAM WSC SEASON
Ventura 2-0 10-4
Citrus 2-0 13-9
Cuesta 1-2 8-15
S Monica 1-2 6-15
LA Valley 0-2 5-15

WSC MEN'S SOCCER
TEAM WSC POINTS SEASON
Santa Barbara 5-0-1 16 5-5-2
Canyons 4-2 12 7-5
L.A. Mission 3-2-1 10 6-6-1
Oxnard 3-2-1 10 7-4-2
Moorpark 3-3 9 5-5-1
Hancock 1-2-3 6 3-6-4
Glendale 1-4-1 4 3-8-2
Citrus 0-5-1 1 2-8-2

WSC WOMEN'S SOCCER
NORTH WSC PTS. SEASON
Moorpark 4-0-1 13 8-0-2
Ventura 3-1 9 9-3
S Brbara 2-0-2 8 7-1-5
Cuesta 1-2-1 4 2-7-3
Oxnard 1-4 3 2-10-1
Hancock 0-4 0 0-8
SOUTH WSC PTS. SEASON
Pierce 6-0 18 10-1-1
Bkrsfld 4-1-1 13 7-3-1
Canyons 3-1-2 11 5-5-3
S Monica 3-1-2 11 6-2-5
LA Valley 2-4 6 4-7-1
Glendale 1-3-2 5 3-5-4
Citrus 1-4-1 4 3-7-3
L.A. Mission 0-6 0 2-9-1

Through Monday, Oct. 5:

TEAM OVR WSC
Ventura 6-3 1-0
Cuesta 7-10 1-0
Citrus 6-6 0-0
L.A. Valley 2-7 0-1
Santa Monica 2-8 0-1

Ventura: Carly Clark had a game-high five goals as the VC women's water polo team held off its Alumnae team, 13-12, in overtime Saturday.

Kelsey Michon, Laurie Anderson and Mary Dugan had two goals. Marissa Herold made 12 saves.

Danielle Rios scored three times for the VC Alumnae. Sandra Rios and Roxie Hacock had two goals.

The Ventura College women's water polo team opened up with a pair of wins and losses over the weekend.

The Pirates beat Pasadena City Friday, 9-5, behind three goals and three steals by Carly Clark. Clark also had eight goals in a 16-13 loss to Palomar. Courtney Davis added two goals and goalie Marissa Herald made 16 saves.

Saturday brought a pair of tight games as Ventura beat Saddleback 11-9 and fell to Grossmont 10-9.

It took overtime for No. 3 seed Long Beach City to eliminate the Ventura College women's water polo team, 8-7, Friday night in the Southern California quarterfinals in Huntington Beach.

Roxy Hacock had three goals and Alana Altmann added two goals for Ventura.

Both Ventura College water polo teams play Southern California regional playoff games today.

The No. 7 seed VC men (16-8), who defeated Riverside (16-15) 13-11 Wednesday, will face No. 2 Orange Coast (17-7) in Huntington Beach.

Sophomore Jeremy Allen leads the Pirates with 68 goals, followed by Mike Crowley (39), Hayden Adler (31) and Mike Lee (31).

The No. 6 seed VC women (18-9) will play No. 3 Long Beach City (23-6), which handed the Pirates their worst loss of the season, 11-5, Oct. 17.

"That was a bad day for us," said Ventura coach Mary Giles.

Sophomore Bonny Bordwell, who also stars on the VC swimming and track teams, leads the team with 45 goals.

"We've got nothing to lose," said Bordwell. "Beating Citrus (for the WSC title) was a nerve-racking game."

The WSC champion Ventura College men's water polo team will open the Southern California regional playoffs Wednesday afternoon at noon in Huntington Beach. The Pirates, seeded No. 7, will play No. 10 Orange Coast at Golden West College.

The winner will play No. 2 Orange Coast Friday.

"It was what I expected," said coach Mark Schmidt. "I had us down at No. 7... It worked out the way I thought."

The recipient of a first-round bye, the WSC champion Ventura College women's water polo team will open the Southern California regional playoffs Friday afternoon in Huntington Beach. The Pirates, seeded No. 6, will play No. 3 Long Beach City at Golden West College.

"I'm happy we don't have to play Wednesday," said coach Mary Giles. "Long Beach is a tough matchup."

Community College water polo

WSC Championships: VC men, women capture WSC titles by Joe Curley

Community College football

Moorpark 51, Glendale 44 (2OT): Moorpark needs double overtime to break skid by Loren Ledin in Moorpark

Hancock 30, Ventura 12: Hancock defeats VC by Joe Curley and AHC's Playoff Run by Kenny Cress, Santa Maria Times.

NCAA Division III football

Cal Lutheran 37, La Verne 3: CLU bounces back by Rhiannon Potkey in Thousand Oaks.

NCAA Division I football

USC 17, Cal 3: USC defense continues to dominate by Joe Curley in Los Angeles

Oregon State 34, UCLA 6: Bruins lacking in mainpower by Mark Saxon, Orange County Register, in Pasadena.

Community College men's basketball

Bakersfield 102, Ventura 95: VC falls in tourney semifinals by Jeffrey Dransfeldt in Ventura.

Locals in college notebook

Pedersen making strides on deep NAU team by Rhiannon Potkey

The Ventura College water polo programs made history today by winning WSC titles in the same year for the first time in school history.

The VC men had previous triumphed in 1988 and 2003.

The VC women had previously been crowned in 1999, 2001, 2004 and 2005.

Both teams will find out their postseason seeding Sunday afternoon.

Bonny Bordwell have five goals and three steals and Roxy Hacock added two goals as the Ventura College women's water polo team won its fourth WSC title in eight years with a 10-7 win over top-seed Citrus

Citrus had handed the VC women (16-9, 5-1) its lone WSC loss, 9-8.

"It was a reality check," said coach Mary Giles of the previous loss. "It was good for us."

After a 4-2 halftime lead melted into a 6-6 knot midway through the third quarter, the Pirates scored four of the final five goals of the game to clinch the title.

The Ventura College women's water polo team opened the season by splitting four games in Walnut over the weekend at the Mount San Antonio College tournament, which included a 12-10 overtime win over Grossmont and 5-4 overtime loss to Palomar.

This Ventura College women's water polo team might be one of the best-coached teams in the state.

The Pirates have an experienced head coach in Mary Giles, who opened her ninth season at the helm last weekend at the Mount San Antonio College tournament.

But the team also is being forged by morning workouts with Larry Baratte, VC's Ventura County Hall of Fame-member swim coach, and much of the roster takes a weight training class with perhaps future Hall of Fame football coach Jon Mack.

"Most of them go to coach Mack because he kicks their butts in the weight room," said Giles. "So I've got an all-star coaching staff. Just not at the games, where it's just me."

Click the jump for the WSC standings from the first official release of the fall season by WSC sports information director Don Adams: