Men's Water Polo triumphed over Western State Conference rival Los Angeles Valley, 9-6, for the 2022 Western State Conference Championship.  The two foes have shared the past dozen WSC Crowns, Cuesta 7 and Valley 5, and are currently ranked #3 and #4 in the State Poll.  Today was their third meeting of the season and, after the Cougars won the first game by three goals, was a second straight two-goal affair in Cuesta's favor.  The Cougars took a tenuous lead, 4-3, into halftime and were able to edge away in the second half.   Cuesta's halftime adjustments made an immediate impact and the Cougars built a 7-3 lead midway through the third period.  The Monarchs, staggered but unbowed, rallied back within two tallies, but Cuesta's Eron Ray netted a penalty shot with just over five minutes on the clock to ice the game and Jordan Northcutt added a bonus goal to secure Cuesta Men's Water Polo's 30th conference title.  The Cougars also laid claim to the WSC's automatic playoff berth, which extended the program's post-season streak to 43-straight playoff berths since the team was founded in 1979. 

Cuesta is currently ranked #3 in the State and #2 in the CCCAA's Southern California Region.  The CCCAA Regional Playoff Seeding Meeting is scheduled for this Sunday, when the Cougars, 27-6 on the season, expect to earn the 2nd-seed.  A seed that also stages the very real possibility that Cuesta will meet LA Valley in the CCCAA Regional Semi-finals for their fourth meeting of the campaign.