Valley Hit by Tidal Wave of Goals in Ventura’s 20-10 WSC Victory

VAN NUYS — Before Tuesday’s Western State Conference water polo opener against Ventura, Valley Coach Bill Krauss accurately predicted the outcome.

“They should kill us,” he said. “They are really loaded.”

Ventura (12-0), ranked fifth in the state, routed Valley, 20-10, giving its reserves plenty of pool time.

Alexandre Martins, Pedro de Lima and Ethan Nondholm each had three goals for the Pirates. De Lima, who moved to Ventura from Brazil in 1993, was the state’s top scorer as a freshman and again leads the state with 68 goals.

Martins, a freshman and former Brazilian club teammate of de Lima’s, ranks fourth in the state with 51 goals.

“I like the fact that everyone played and shared the scoring today,” Ventura Coach Larry Baratte said.

“It was also good to play different people in different settings.”

Valley stayed close for only a quarter before the Ventura scoring machine broke open a 4-3 game.

The Pirates went on a 5-1 run in the second quarter, with Martins and de Lima each scoring two goals and Andy Bruininga also beating Valley goalie Serjik Armiryan.

Valley’s Mark Stempniak, a freshman from Glendale High, had a career-high six goals.

Armiryan made 15 saves for Valley (0-12).