Owls Earn Their Spot in WSC Tournament

Citrus College had to earn its way into the Western State Conference Tournament and did just that Wednesday with a 14-9 victory over Ventura College.

The Owls improve to 7-21 overall while the Pirates end the year with a 0-16 mark.

Fresh off being named the CCCWPCA Athlete of the Week, Jullian Nichols led the Owls with four goals and a staggering eight steals – putting his tally to 99 on the year, which sits sixth all-time for the Owls. Nichols also had three assists in the game.

Rolan Solis added three goals and three assists, while Logan Haberle and Nathan Salcedo each scored a pair of goals. The Owls also saw goals from Gavin Tanner, Eric Ramirez, and Cristian Duran.

In the cage, Matteo Velasquez posted 11 saves to help Citrus pick up the win.

The Owls set the tone early with five unanswered goals to open the game. Nichols scored two during the scoring spree, while Haberle, Ramirez and Solis also got in on the action.

Citrus kept rolling and extended its lead to eight, 14-6, off three consecutive goals in the fourth, before the Pirates tried to get a rally going. Ventura managed to score three goals with two-and-a-half minutes remaining, but it wasn't enough time to get momentum going as Citrus secured the 14-9 victory.

The Owls head to Cuesta College for the remainder of the WSC Tournament, facing top-seeded Cuesta on Friday at 2:45 p.m. with a trip to the championship game on the line.