Boys’ Water Polo: Laguna eases into championship game
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Throughout the course of the 2014 season, the Laguna Beach boys’ water polo team has held a top ranking. On Saturday, the Breakers truly will get to play for No. 1.
Laguna earned a spot in the CIF Southern Section Division 3 championship game by handling fourth-seeded Capistrano Valley with ease, 16-7, in a division playoff semifinal Wednesday at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatic Center in Irvine.
“I thought we played really well and we’re excited to be back playing for a championship,” Laguna Coach Ethan Damato said.
Wednesday’s win was the second this season for Laguna over Capo Valley. The teams preceded CIF playoff action by meeting in the final week of the regular season. In a Nov. 6 game at Capo Valley, the Breakers came away with a 17-12 victory.
Laguna next will face third-seeded Montebello at 7 p.m. Saturday for the Division 3 championship. While the Breakers were taking care of Capo Valley Wednesday, the Oilers simultaneously were taking down second-seeded Murrieta Valley, 12-11, in sudden death overtime in the left course pool at the Woollett Aquatic Center.
Laguna and Almont League champion Montebello (24-3), will meet for the first time this season.
“I think we are playing our best water polo right now,” Damato said after his team improved to 24-6. “We are clicking as a team both in and out of the water, and it shows in our play.”
Laguna controlled Sea View League champ Capo Valley (19-12) throughout the semifinal showdown. The Breakers led, 4-1, after one quarter and 9-4 at the half. They built their advantage to 14-6 through three quarters and took their biggest lead when senior Cade Baldridge scored with 3:12 to play. Baldridge’s fifth goal of the game, and 95th of the season, put the lead at 16-6.
Damato turned to his bench to finish off the final 2:04 of the contest.
“I thought our defensive effort was better than the first time we played him,” Damato said when comparing Wednesday’s win to the Breakers’ win at Capo Valley. “We started fast and were opportunistic at both ends of the pool.”
Senior Jack Dodson led all scorers with six goals, and defensively did a solid job of containing Capo Valley utility player Austin Sechrest, who led the Cougars with three goals. Dodson’s first goal came less than two minutes into the game and it put Laguna in the lead for good. Junior Jakob Colladay scored twice and seniors Trent Sadler, Nolan Del Toro and Aki Andersen each had a goal to round out Laguna’s scoring.
Senior goalie Garret Hartley recorded seven saves.
Prior to Wednesday’s semifinal, Laguna routed host Aliso Niguel (Sea View League No. 3), 19-6, in the quarterfinal round Saturday. Baldridge led the scoring with five goals, Colladay scored four times, Dodson three times, Sadler and senior Connor Hauer both scored twice, and Hartley had four saves. The Breakers cruised to a 13-2 halftime lead.
Damato has taken Laguna to the semifinal round in each of his seven years as head coach. The Breakers won back-to-back CIF titles (Division 3) in 2010-11. They returned to the division this year after playing in Division 2 the previous two years.
“It feels great to be playing for a championship again,” Dodson said. “I was a freshman when we won the title a few years ago (2011), and I got in to play for a couple of minutes in that game, and that was exciting. I’m more excited for this trip to the finals because I’ve played with all these guys for so long.
“I still feel that we have room to improve after this (Capo Valley) win, but we’re going to bring it Saturday.”
The Laguna-Montebello Division 3 title game is the last of seven division finals to be played at the Woollett Aquatic Center on Saturday. The schools have met on five previous occasions, with the Oilers holding the series lead at 4-1. The Breakers won the last meeting between the teams in 2010.
Saturday’s championship matchups schedule:
10 a.m., Division 6 (Left Course pool): Segerstrom vs. Malibu.
11:30 a.m., Division 5 (Right Course): Claremont vs Los Altos.
1 p.m., Division 4 (Left Course): Cerritos vs Righetti.
2:30 p.m., Division 2 (Right Course): Foothill vs Los Osos.
4 p.m., Division 7 (Left Course): Don Lugo vs Rio Mesa.
5:30 p.m., Division 1 (Right Course): Harvard Westlake vs Mater Dei.
7 p.m., Division 3 (Left Course): Laguna Beach vs Montebello.
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Twitter: @MikeSciacca