Boys’ Water Polo: CdM takes second
IRVINE — After learning that his team would play Harvard-Westlake in the S&R Sport Water Polo tournament championship game, Corona del Mar High boys’ water polo coach Barry O’Dea was diplomatic.
“Our guys are looking forward to going out there,” O’Dea said Saturday afternoon at Woollett Aquatics Center. “If they’re the best, which they are right now, we get a chance to see how we measure up. I think we can be a tough matchup if we do things the way we want to.”
CdM assistant coach Ryan Bailey, the four-time Olympian, was standing nearby. He spoke up.
“I think we’re going to have trouble with [No.] 7,” Bailey said.
No. 7 is Harvard-Westlake senior Johnny Hooper. He definitely proved hard to defend a few hours later, lighting up the Sea Kings in the championship game. His goal total not only matched his cap number, but CdM’s total as a team as well.
Harvard-Westlake blitzed CdM in the second half, turning a close game into a 22-7 runaway win as the Wolverines won the tournament for the second straight year.
Ben Hallock scored six goals and Evan Rosenfeld added five for Harvard-Westlake (15-0), the top-ranked defending CIF Southern Section Division 1 champion. CdM (12-3) is ranked No. 4 in Division 1.
The Sea Kings trailed just 7-4 at halftime, but Harvard-Westlake won the third quarter, 8-0. CdM didn’t score in the second half until junior center Brendan Hack scored a redirect goal with 4:46 left in the game.
“I thought we had a great first half,” O’Dea said. “We’re in the game … we’ve got to stay out of foul trouble and we’ve got to calm Barry down on his offensive game. What did we go, 38 offensive possessions? We probably need to cut that in half and slow this game down. Other than that, I’m pretty happy. I think our boys had a fabulous weekend.”
Junior center Ben Brooks led CdM in the final with three goals, while Patrick Ong, Garrett Spruth, Jon Polos and Hack scored one each. Senior keeper Nigel Bress made a couple of big counterattack saves among his seven overall.
But Harvard-Westlake kept coming, relentless, living up to its billing as the top team in Division 1. In four tournament games, the Wolverines scored more than 20 goals every game.
“I think they’re really, really, really good,” O’Dea said. “They’ve got a lot of players from a lot of places. They’re good. They’re solid at two meters, Hooper’s a good player. I think their counterattack is out of this world, and they’re aggressive.”
Brooks said it was a good opportunity to play a team like Harvard-Westlake, a possible CIF playoff opponent. CdM won’t see Harvard-Westlake again in the regular season.
“There’s a lot of talk about them,” Brooks said. “They’ve earned a name for themselves, but it’s not like they’re unbeatable. We know what we need to fix, and we’re preparing for them in the future. It’s a long road.”
Hack led the Sea Kings with a season-high five goals in an 11-10 tournament semifinal win over Foothill, and Spruth scored four goals – three on penalty shots - before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
Ashton Jajonie and Brooks also scored for CdM, while Bress had a stellar game with 11 saves (including one on a penalty shot), three steals and two assists.
Jajonie and Foster Hoose each had three steals, and Patrick Ong two steals, to lead the defensive effort.
CdM led 9-5 early in the third quarter before the Knights nearly came all the way back. Foothill’s Mike Miller and Chas Hornecker each scored late in the fourth quarter, but CdM was able to hold on. Hack had a field block, then Bress made a save in the final minute, but Foothill got the ball back.
A Foothill lob was off the crossbar with about 35 seconds left, and CdM was able to run the clock down nearly all the way to defeat the top-ranked team in Division 2 for the second time this year.
“That’s a good example of what a [CIF] semifinal, come playoff time, is going to look like,” O’Dea said. “Both teams are going to have runs, and you’ve got to withstand and absorb what comes at you. Then, all of a sudden, you get an opportunity to try and make your run back. I thought we did a good job of that.”
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•Newport Harbor finished 10th in the 16-team tournament after splitting two games Saturday. The Sailors came back to defeat Bellarmine Prep, 12-10, in a ninth-place semifinal, before falling to Davis, 11-7, in the ninth-place game Saturday night.
Senior captain Clay Davison led Newport Harbor (6-14) with four goals in the ninth-place semifinal win over Bellarmine Prep, and Charlie Padden added three. Senior goalie Nick Wood made 11 saves.
Newport Harbor scored the final seven goals against Bellarmine Prep to earn one of its best wins of the season.
“These boys deserve more victories, just for the team morale,” Coach Marco Palazzo said. “I’m glad that we won this one. It was good. I think what changed the game on our side was better defense, better awareness from the whole team, and a more ordered offense.”
