If recent results are any indicator, the upcoming San Diego Section Division III boys water polo championship playoffs could get wild as well as wet. The Hilltop Lancers are currently ranked second among the 22 teams in the division but there doesn’t appear to be much that separates the teams immediately below them.
Hilltop turned back fourth-ranked Otay Ranch, 7-4, in a Metro-Mesa League game played last Friday at the Parkway pool. The Lancers had to fight back from an early two-goal deficit to post the win.
On Monday, Hilltop shaded fifth-ranked Mater Dei Catholic, 8-7, in a game also played at the Parkway pool.
Lancer head coach Ernie Media was complimentary of both challengers.
“If Hilltop stays composed and disciplined, they can play some pretty good polo against good teams like Otay,” Medina noted following last Friday’s game.
He can like amend that quote by adding Mater Dei Catholic to those list of good teams after his team survived Monday’s key Metro-Mesa enounconter.
Last Friday’s game had a lot rolled into it. Medina had coached for a long stretch at Otay Ranch while current Mustang head coach Matt Chism had played at Hilltop. Medina also had coached most of the kids in the pool during the summer club water polo season.
“It was like a chess match because we knew each other so well,” Medina said. “Half their team plays club for me.”
Perhaps predictably, the teams played to a scoreless stalemate through the opening quarter. The score was 1-1 at halftime.
Austin Kober gave the Lancers a 1-0 lead before Eugenio Revilla scored a six-on-five goal to level the score.
Goals by Eddie Rosenfeld and Revilla pushed Otay Ranch ahead 3-1 early in the third quarter before two unanswered goals by the Lancers put them in a 3-3 tie entering the final quarter.
Anthony Torroll made the score 3-2 and Mark Estrada scored with 1:21 left in the third quarter to tie the game. Hilltop had a glorious opportunity to go up by a goal but Emilio Maldonado hit the crossbar on a five-meter penalty shot with 37 seconds remaining in the quarter.
The Mustangs took advantage of Maldonado’s missed shot when Rosenfeld scored his second goal of the game to ignite scoring in the final quarter and put Otay Ranch up 4-3. However, Kober responded with his second goal of the game to knot the teams in a 4-4 deadlock.
Maldonado redeemed himself by scoring back-to-back goals to put the Lancers ahead 6-4. His second goal was a thing of beauty as he turned his defender around from the two-meter set to score on a 360-degree motion shot.
The Mustangs went on the man-up with 1:19 left in the game and missed just wide. When Otay Ranch’s Ozkar Alvarez missed wide on a shot with 25 seconds to play, that sealed the Hilltop win.
Kober scored his hat trick goal with 14 seconds to play to make the final score 7-4.
Lancer goalie Danny Godinez was credited with six blocks and Mustang goalie Matt Olimski was credited with five saves, though it appeared each goalkeeper had at least twice that many.
Otay Ranch dropped to 2-3 in league play, 11-10 overall.
Hilltop improved to 3-2 in league play, 10-4 overall, following Monday’s clutch victory against the Crusaders (2-2 in league, 10-10 overall).
The Lancers led 1-0 at then end of the first quarter and 4-2 at halftime. Hilltop moved out to a three-goal lead, 7-4, at the end of three quarters but the Crusaders managed to tighten the score in the final quarter.
Hilltop’s Godinez had 15 saves while Mater Dei Catholic’s Stephan Balensi was credited with 11 saves.
Ben Brown scored five goals for Mater Dei Catholic while Jeff Jovellano and Esteban Madrian each had one goal.
Kober had three goals, three steals and one assist for Hilltop while Torroll had two goals, one assist and two steals. Maldonado had one goal and two steals while Ryan Sears had two goals and four steals.
The Crusaders defeated Bonita Vista, 9-6, in a key league and divisional game last Friday at Southwestern College. The result expects to jumble the division power rankings when final playoff seeding is conducted.
Currently, the Division III power rankings read in this order:
Pt. Loma, Hilltop, Bonita Vista, Otay Ranch, Mater Dei Catholic, Escondido, Classical Academy, San Dieguito Academy, Mission Bay, Olympian, Oceanside and El Capitan.
Medina expects some movement upward and downward by several teams.
“Mater Dei will probably switch with Bonita because Mater Dei beat Bonita last week,” Medina noted. “Olympian beat High Tech High San Diego and Mission Bay, so they will probably flip in front when all teams report.”
The Lancers finish first round league play against Bonita Vista on Wednesday.
Follow the leader
At 5-0 in Mesa League play, 11-7 overall, the Eastlake Titans continues their strong second-half push to the 2015 season. In their latest trip to the pool, the Titans defeated defending league champion Mar Vista, 13-3, in a key game last Friday in Imperial Beach.
Faux Mahan led the Mariners (0-4 in league, 3-11 overall) with a pair of goals while teammate Gabriel Caswall scored once. Hector Ramirez had seven saves on 20 shots.
Eastlake scoring was not reported.
Mesa League
Boys Water Polo Standings
(Through Oct. 19)
Eastlake Titans 5-0, 11-7
Hilltop Lancers 3-2, 10-4
Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders 2-2, 10-10
Bonita Vista Barons 2-3, 13-6
Otay Ranch Mustangs 2-3, 11-10
Mar Vista Mariners 0-4, 3-11
Eagles gaining momentum in search of league title, CIF playoff berth
The Olympian High School boys water polo team enhanced its chances of finishing as South Bay League champions after defeating the Chula Vista Spartans, 18-9, Tuesday evening at the Parkway pool. The Eagles upped their league record to 4-0 and improved to 6-5 overall.
The win was the fifth in the last six games for Olympian, which placed runner-up last season to San Ysidro.
“We’re definitely gaining momentum,” OHS head coach Carolyn Lechner explained. “We’re excited going into the San Diego Open. That will be a huge factor in us getting into the playoffs.”
The Eagles entered Tuesday’s game against the Spartans (1-3 in league, 4-9 overall) ranked seventh in the San Diego Section Division III power rankings. The top 12 teams in the rankings qualify for the playoffs. Two weeks ago, Olympian wasn’t in that top 12 grouping.
But that changed with a key pair of wins against divisional opponents at the East County Invitational earlier this month. The Eagles defeated both High Tech San Diego and Mission Bay to break into the playoff group.
D.J. O’Brien and Noah Collins led Olympian with four goals each in Tuesday’s game while Brandon Sanchez had three goals and Alan Contreras and Austin Greenwell each had two goals.
Contreras tacked on three assists while Greenwell recorded a team-high six steals. Goalie Anthony Segarra notched six saves and three steals.
Olympian led, 11-3, at halftime.
The Eagles next play Southwest next Wednesday (Oct. 28) at 5 p.m. at Parkway pool.
Adrian Perez led Chula Vista with four goals while Hector Garcia scored three times and Kenneth Frias had two goals.
South Bay League
Boys Water Polo Standings
(Through Oct. 20)
Olympian Eagles 4-0, 6-5
San Ysidro Cougars 2-1, 2-12
Southwest Raiders 2-2, 8-5
Chula Vista Spartans 1-3, 4-9
Castle Park Trojans 0-3, 0-3
