It has been an eventful last few games for the Hilltop High School boys water polo team. The Lancers have righted themselves from a 0-4 start in Mesa League play to suddenly become a legitimate contender for this year’s league championship by winning their last three league games, including a pair against teams ahead of them in the standings.
Hilltop concluded the opening round of league play 1-4 following losses to Mater Dei Catholic (12-5), Eastlake (9-8), Otay Ranch (9-6) and Bonita Vista (5-4) and an overtime win at Mar Vista (11-10).
Since then, the Lancers have added victories against Mater Dei Catholic (7-6 on Oct. 20) and Eastlake (9-7 on Tuesday) to jumble the standings a bit.
Mar Vista recorded an 11-10 upset win over Mater Dei Catholic on Tuesday to hand the Crusaders their second league loss. Eastlake now has four league losses following recent setbacks to Bonita Vista (8-6 on Oct. 18) and Otay Ranch (6-5 on Oct. 20) to fall back into the pack.
Otay Ranch has emerged from the fray with a 4-3 league record to rank second to Mater Dei Catholic with an upcoming game against the Crusaders on Nov. 3
Following a 10-6 loss to Mater Dei Catholic on Oct. 18, the Mustangs got back into the championship race with key victories against Eastlake and Bonita Vista (9-7 on Tuesday).
The first round of league play was exceedingly close for all Mesa League teams and the start of the second round has seen teams claim reversal of fortunes. Four teams are tied with 3-4 league records — just two games off the league lead.
Hilltop head coach Ernie Medina noted his team’s turnaround has been due it starting to play up to its potential.
The Lancers defeated Patrick Henry, 11-10, on Monday as the annual San Diego Open tournament jump-started. Tuesday’s win was Hilltop’s fourth in a row before falling 11-7 to San Marcos in another tournament game on Wednesday.
Caleb Macias scored four goals in the second-round win over Mater Dei Catholic while Mark Estrada had three goals. Lancer goalie Danny Godinez came up big with 13 saves to out-duel league leading scorer Ben Brown, who was held to just two goals in the game.
Estrada scored four goals and Ivan Corona scored three goals for Hilltop in its 9-7 win over Eastlake on Tuesday.
MESA LEAGUE
Thursday, Oct. 13
Bonita Vista 5, Hilltop 4
Mater Dei Catholic 9, Eastlake 6
Mar Vista 9, Otay Ranch 8
Tuesday, Oct. 18
Hilltop 11, Mar Vista (OT)
Mater Dei Catholic 10, Otay Ranch 6
Bonita Vista 8, Eastlake 6
Thursday, Oct. 20
Hilltop 7, Mater Dei Catholic 6
Bonita Vista 10, Mar Vista 7
Otay Ranch 6, Eastlake 5
Tuesday, Oct. 25
Hilltop 9, Eastlake 7
Mar Vista 11, Mater Dei Catholic 10
Otay Ranch 9, Bonita Vista 7
Thursday, Oct. 27
Hilltop 11, Otay Ranch 7
Mater Dei Catholic 7, Bonita Vista 5
Eastlake 9, Mar Vista 6
League standings:
Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders 6-2
Eastlake Titans 4-4
Otay Ranch Mustangs 4-4
Hilltop Lancers 4-4
Mar Vista Mariners 3-5
Bonita Vista Barons 3-5
SOUTH BAY LEAGUE
Thursday, Oct. 13
Olympian 21, Chula Vista 1
San Ysidro 14, Castle Park 2
Tuesday, Oct. 18
San Ysidro 16, Southwest 5
Olympian vs. Castle Park, no report
Thursday, Oct. 20
Olympian 23, Southwest 8
Chula Vista 13, Castle Park 7
Tuesday, Oct. 25
Olympian 15, San Ysidro 12
Chula Vista 14, Southwest 10
Castle Park 10, Montgomery 7 (non-league)
Thursday, Oct. 27
San Ysidro 16, Chula Vista 7
Olympian 8, Monte Vista 7 (non-league)
Castle Park at Southwest, no report
League standings:
*Olympian Eagles 5-0
San Ysidro Cougars 4-2
Chula Vista Spartans 4-3
Southwest Raiders 1-5
*Castle Park Trojans 0-4
*Game result of 10-18 not reported
Hilltop remains dominant in second half of Mesa League play
The Hilltop High School boys water polo team recorded its most dominating win in Mesa League play this season Thursday at the Parkway pool by defeating the Otay Ranch Mustangs by a score of 11-7.
The Lancers led 11-4 heading into the final two minutes of the game before the Mustangs reeled off three goals to narrow the score, including the final goal with one second to play.
The win leveled both teams’ league records at 4-4.
“It seems that my guys have turned it around – we’ve won five of our last six games,” Hilltop head coach Ernie Medina explained. “We’re working to communicate, our ability to move and bounce the ball around is improving. We need two more games like this (to close out league play). Hopefully, we can take this momentum into the rest of the San Diego Open tournament.
“It’s been a frustrating year losing some good players early in the season, then injuries. But there’s no quit in them. We’ve basically ‘willed’ our wins.”
Hilltop zoomed in front 5-0 before Otay Ranch goalie Matt Olimski blasted a pool length shot to score the first goal for the Mustangs. Olimski demonstrated this strong arm throughout the game with titanic shots at the Lancer cage taken from the Otay Ranch defensive zone.
The Mustangs won the second period by outscoring the hosts 2-1 to tighten the game up at 6-3 by halftime.
But Daniel Ryan scored seconds into the third quarter to put the Lancers ahead 7-3 and Mark Estrada followed with another Hilltop goal to increase the margin to 8-3.
Otay Ranch’s Ernie Guevara scored the final goal in the quarter to bring the score to 8-4 entering the final seven minutes of play.
The teams combined for six goals in the final quarter – the first three by the Lancers and the last three by the Mustangs.
Hilltop goalie Danny Godinez made several powerful saves throughout the game, especially off cannon shots by Olimski, who left the cage for the field late in the game as the Mustangs attempted a late rally.
Godinez was credited with 20 saves in the game. Ryan and Estrada each scored three goals for the Lancers. Cooper Mestre scored three goals for Otay Ranch while Guevara scored twice and Olimski and Claudio Armenta each scored once.
Mater Dei Catholic defeated Bonita Vista, 7-5, on Thursday to remain in first place in the league standings. The Crusaders improved to 6-2 in leauge play with a two-game lead on both Hiltlop and Otay Ranch with two league games remaining for all three teams. Mar Vista also improved to 4-4 in league play after defeating visiting Eastlake on Thursday to pull into a three-way tie for second place in the league standings.
Mater Dei Catholic closes the season with games against Eastlake on Nov. 1 and Otay Ranch on Nov. 3.
