Rustlers Win All Five Appearances at Cuesta College Tournament

Huntington Beach, Calif. - Golden West men's water polo  (13-1, 1-0 OEC) win all five appearances at the Cuesta College Tournament. 

9/21/2023 vs Long Beach, 13-8

On the third and final day, Golden West began with a game against Long Beach City College. The Rustlers came out strong with five unanswered goals that were met with two goals from Vikings to end the first quarter, 5-2. Long Beach would prove to be difficult for the Rustlers to put away in the second quarter. The Vikings would outscore Golden West 3-5 to make it a one goal game at halftime, 8-7. 

The second half would be a defensive battle as each side struggled to find the net often. Golden West would outscore their opponent 3-1 in the third quarter and shutout them out in the final frame. The Rustlers would win the low-scoring affair 13-8 to continue their dominant stretch in the Cuesta College Tournament. Itay Roth would be Golden West's leading scorer with four goals, three assists and six steals. Alex Johnson would put consistent pressure on Long Beach with eight shots with three finding the net, three assists and a steal. The Rustlers put three keepers in goal with Pablo Souza saving five in his one quarter. Braden Sanders played a quarter with two saves and Jose Antonio Silva earned the win by being in net for a half and saved two shots. 

9/22/2023 vs American River. 15-8

For their final appearance in the Cuesta College Tournament, the Rustlers took on American River. Golden West continued their trend over the weekend of scoring four unanswered goals to begin the match. The second quarter would have an identical scoring pattern to the first quarter with the Beavers scoring a goal after the Rustlers would find the net four consecutive times. American River would catch up a bit with five goals in the third quarter but their effort was too little and too late as Golden West would win their fifth straight game of the tournament, 15-8. 

Tomas De Luca led in scoring with four goals from eight shots, two steals and an assist. Alec Johnson helped the Rustlers maintain possession with eight steals and three goals. Braeden Sanders earned the win with six saves and Pablo Souza participated in two quarters in net. The Rustlers won all five appearances at the Cuesta College Tournament to improve their overall record to 13-1. 

NEXT UP: Golden West will travel to Cypress College for a conference matchup on Wednesday, October 4th.