CdM strong, eases to win

CORONA DEL MAR — The Corona del Mar High boys’ water polo team has been down early in plenty of games this season.

Coach Barry O’Dea knows what that’s like.

“That’s a tough thing, mentally, to handle,” O’Dea said.

But the Sea Kings were able to return the favor Thursday in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs.

CdM used early goals by Max Bergeson, Carter Taylor and Chris Cottrell to build the lead, cruising to a 9-4 victory over Esperanza at CdM.

The Sea Kings (16-6) move on to play El Toro in the quarterfinals. The game will be played on Saturday at 2 p.m. at CdM, as the Sea Kings won the coin flip over the Chargers before the playoffs began.

Against Esperanza (7-12), the CdM counterattack was on full display early. After an Aztecs shot hit the crossbar in the first two minutes of the game, Bergeson scored a counter goal off a nice pass from Brian Schiefer, staking CdM to the early 1-0 lead.

Then, a steal by Bergeson immediately led to a straightaway goal from Taylor, who found the left corner from five meters on Lucas Reynolds’ pass.

Cottrell, who had a game-high three goals, then got in on the fun. He stole the ball and eventually scored, driving and finding the net as Bergeson whipped a pass in front from the right side.

“The combination of a strong lefty like Max, and quick drivers like myself and others, that’s like a goalie’s worst nightmare,” Cottrell said. “That’s the best way to put it.”

With 2:51 left in the first quarter, the Pacific Coast League champion Sea Kings already had a three-goal lead.

“The opportunity to compete at this level doesn’t come very often,” Cottrell said. “When it does come, we have to make sure we’re prepared and ready to play.”

CdM spent the rest of the game building the lead, getting it as high as 8-2 late in the third quarter when Justin Papa scored on an assist from Nick Klein.

Bergeson, the lefty sophomore who had two goals, three assists and five steals, said it was a matter of staying patient on offense.

“We tried to slow it down this time,” Bergeson said. “Usually we make a lot of mistakes, but we’re doing a lot better job of slowing it down and getting what we want.”

Isle Anderson had eight saves and two steals for the Sea Kings, and he allowed just two natural goals.

Esperanza senior goalie Kevin Schiffmacher was also effective, making four steals.

O’Dea knows his team can’t make those kind of mistakes on Saturday against El Toro, which beat CdM, 18-7, in a nonleague game on Oct. 12.

That game was essentially over at halftime, when El Toro built up an 11-4 lead. But the Sea Kings are thankful to get a rematch.

“The first time we played, we didn’t really show up to play,” O’Dea said. “We were embarrassed. I think the biggest thing for our team is that we want to go out and get a little bit of pride back.”

CIF Southern Section Division I Playoffs

First round

Corona del Mar 9, Esperanza 4

SCORE BY QUARTERS

E – Djahangiry 1, Susdorf 1, Takahashi 1, Vriens 1. Saves – Schiffmacher 9.

CdM – Cottrell 3, Bergeson 2, Taylor 2, Papa 1, Reynolds 1. Saves – Anderson 8.

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or by e-mail at [email protected].