The San Diego Section boys water polo playoffs will have a decidedly new look in 2014 with divisions based on competition level rather than enrollment level. The section has already used this modified format to a great deal of success in football, baseball, softball, girls volleyball and boys and girls lacrosse.
Now, it’s water polo’s turn.
The new format looks to reward Metro Conference teams, in particular.
Entering the week, the Mar Vista Mariners held down the No. 2 seeding position in Division II while the Eastlake Titans were No. 3. In Division III, six Sweetwater district teams were in contention to secure post-season berths in the 12-team field, including four of the five teams from the South Bay League.
On Thursday, Mar Vista defeated Eastlake, 7-4, in this year’s Mesa League championship game.
Regular season play wraps up on Friday.
The section’s seeding meeting is Saturday when playoff selections in all four divisions — Open, Division I, Division II and Division III – will be released.
Besides Mar Vista, Eastlake and Otay Ranch, also vying for post-season berths are Bonita Vista (No. 4 in Division III), Otay Ranch (No. 6 in Division III), Olympian (No. 7 in Division III), San Ysidro (No. 8 in Division III), Castle Park (No. 11 in Division III) and Chula Vista (No. 12 in Division III).
Mater Dei Catholic (No. 13 in Division II) and Hilltop (No. 14 in Division II) both have an outside shot of qualifying. Entering the week, the Lancers were seeded No. 14.
Twelve teams qualify in both the Division II and Division III playoff fields. Head-to-head match-ups in non-league games also factor into team seeding besides regular season league finish.
The opening round in both divisions is Tuesday, Nov. 11. Quarterfinals in Division III are Thursday, Nov. 13, followed by quarterfinals in Division II on Saturday, Nov. 15.
Semifinals are scheduled Nov. 17 (Division III) and Nov. 18 (Division II). Championship games in both divisions are scheduled Nov. 22. All quarterfinal, semifinal and final games are slated to be played at La Jolla High School.
On the rise
Otay Ranch downed Bonita Vista, 7-5, in a tight defensive battle Tuesday afternoon to all but secure a Division III playoff berth. The win was the third in four games for the Mustangs.
“We’re drawing a lot of ejections, so have a lot of man-up opportunites and we give it to our big shooters and they get the job done,” ORHS senior Robert Lechner said. “We have a lot of teamwork and not many turnovers and our goalie (Matt Olimski) has been playing very well the last couple games.
“We’re excited about the playoffs and excited about how far we might get.”
The Mustangs and Barons battled to a 2-2 halftime standoff, with Bonita Vista pulling ahead 5-4 at the end of three quarters. But Otay Ranch did all the scoring in the fourth quarter, adding three goals, including two by Eddie Rosenfeld, to post the key two-goal victory.
Rosenfeld paced the Mustangs with three goals in the game while Nick Sadan and Cooper Mestre each scored twice and Matt Olimski was credited with eight goalie saves.
Bryan Murillo paced Bonita Vista with three goals.
Previously, Otay Ranch defeated Mater Dei Catholic, 7-6, on a goal in the final 12 seconds on Oct. 28 and Bonita Vista by that same score on a goal in the final two seconds on Oct. 29.
The Mustangs dropped an 11-6 decision to visiting Eastlake on Oct. 30.
Tuesday’s win placed Otay Ranch (3-7 in Mesa League, 7-12 overall) fourth overall in seeding ahead of Bonita Vista (sixth). However, the teams flipped positions on Thursday as Bonita Vista (3-7 in Mesa League, 9-20 overall) defeated Mater Dei Catholic, 10-9, at the Southwestern College pool and Hilltop sank the host Mustangs, 9-8, in a game played at the Loma Verde pool.
Thursday’s key victory by Hilltop (3-7 in league, 12-14 overall) might be just enough to get the Lancers into the playoffs since Hilltop owns a non-league win over Point Loma, the team currently occupying the final No. 12 playoff spot in Division II.
Meanwhile, Mater Dei (3-7 in league, 12-12 overall) has beaten the Lancers twice this season, plus Point Loma, adding more drama to Saturday’s seeding meeting.
Otay Ranch meets Olympian Friday at 7 p.m. at the Loma Verde pool as both teams attempt to improve their playoff seeding in Division III.
San Ysidro defeated Olympian, 6-4, in a game Tuesday at the Loma Verde pool to win this year’s South Bay League championship title outright. The Cougars then defeated Chula Vista, 12-4, on Thursday to wrap up an undefeated 8-0 league campaign. San Ysidro improved to 13-12 on the season with the win while Chula Vista dropped to 4-4 in league play, 6-4 on the season.
Olympian concluded South Bay League play as the league runner-up with a 5-3 record. The Eagles are 6-3 on the season entering Friday’s regular season finale.
Castle Park kept its playoff hopes intact by defeating Southwest, 14-5, on Thursday to finish 3-5 in South Bay League play. Chula Vista and Castle Park have each swapped wins this season.
Chula Vista downed Southwest, 14-6, on Tuesday.
Clash of the Titans
Eastlake defeated Hilltop, 15-4, in a Mesa League game at Southwestern College on Tuesday while Mar Vista swamped visiting Mater Dei Catholic, 21-12, in another Mesa League encounter on Tuesday as the Titans and Mariners remained one game apart in the leaguer standings heading into Thursday’s climactic Mesa League championship game in Imperial Beach.
Mar Vista entered Thursday’s showdown for this year’s league title after having dunked Eastlake, 9-7, in a high-profile first-round league match-up Oct. 21 at the SWC pool.
In Tuesday’s game, Sal Gomez powered Eastlake’s offense with five goals against Hilltop while Zack Randall led the Titans with seven steals and Nate Niehaus, Kyle Schauer and Kyle Kowalski each led the victors with three assists.
Eastlake led 7-2 at halftime and 10-3 entering the final quarter.
Niehaus entered the week as this year’s Titan team scoring leader with 108 goals and 127 points in 24 games, but was held scoreless in Thursday’s Mesa League championship game by a strong-willed Mariner defense.
Fellow junior Randall ranked second on the team with 68 points in 24 games while Kowalski, a senior, ranked second with 54 goals in 22 games and third with 62 points.
Kowalski had one goal in Thursday’s game while Gomez led EHS with three goals.
Mar Vista led 2-0 at the end of the first quarter and 4-1 at halftime before the Titans, who entered the game as six-time defending Mesa League champs, scored twice to open the second half to narrow the Mariner lead to 4-3.
But high-pressure tactics by the hosts, playing in their short and narrow pool, helped unravel Eastlake’s game in the pivotal fourth quarter as Shane Landry, Faux Mahan and Josh Johnson each scored key goals to boost Mar Vista, which made the switch this year from the South Bay League to the Mesa League.
The Titans were playing their third game in as many days. After defeating Hilltop on Tuesday, Eastlake out-lasted host Rancho Bernardo, 9-8, in a non-league game on Wednesday.
However, fatigue was not a factor in Thursday’s loss, according to EHS head coach Austin Legg.
“We were flat, that’s about it,” he said. “We had our opportunities. We’re looking forward to playing in bigger pools for CIF.”
If the seeding holds as it, both Mar Vista and Eastlake would receive a bye in Tuesday’s opening round and advance straight to Friday’s division quarterfinals.
The teams could conceivably rematch in the division semifinals.
“We’ll see how CIF goes,” Legg said.
Legg lauded Mar Vista’s move to the Mesa League this season.
“It’s definitely made the league more competitive,” Legg explained. “It’s added two more competitive games to our schedule. I think we have a rivalry developing now.”
Mar Vista is chasing the laurels of the school’s 1999 team for best-ever honors at the Imperial Beach school. Is this year’s Mariners squad the best ever?
“We haven’t won CIF yet,” MVHS head coach Chad Kavanagh noted. “We’ll see how we do in the CIF playoffs.”
The Mariners have found success this season by identifying a team’s strength and then neutralizing it in head-to-head match-ups. Kavanagh credits his assistant coaches for keen scouting in that regard.
Mar Vista’s execution of its game plan was near to perfection on Thursday in the team’s highest stakes match of the season.
“We made a few mistakes but it was pretty darn good,” the MVHS coach said. “It’s been a great season, phenomenal.”
Mar Vista defeated Mater Dei Catholic, 21-12, on Tuesday to set up Thursday’s championship showdown with Eastlake. The Mariners led, 12-2, at halftime.
San Ysidro tops Olympian, 6-4, to claim South Bay League boys water polo banner
There is a new boys water polo champion in the South Bay League after the San Ysidro Cougars defeated the Olympian Eagles, 6-4, Tuesday evening at the Loma Verde pool.
The game pitted the top two teams in the league standings.
San Ysidro (7-0 in league play, 12-12 overall) shut Olympian (5-3, 6-3) through the first three quarters while building a 6-0 lead. Eagles goalie Jacob Rodriguez, in turn, shut out the Cougars in the last quarter while team scoring leader Alan Gonzalez scored four times. But it wasn’t quite enough to reverse the game’s outcome.
“San Ysidro played really well tonight, and being an undefeated team, they worked hard to deserve that win,” OHS coach Carolyn Lechner graciously offered in defeat. “They are the new South Bay League champions, and they played like champions tonight. They were a great opponent to play against and they brought a tough battle.”
The game attracted a sea of spectators. “Families, friends and faculty from both schools came out to support the two teams,” Lechner said. “It really added to the intensity of the game. It’s awesome seeing spectators come out like that for this game because water polo doesn’t receive the same kind of spectator recognition as other fall sports, so we really appreciate when fans come out to support our games.
“I just want to congratulate both teams for an incredible season.”
San Ysidro, as the league champion, receives an automatic berth in the upcoming San Diego Section Division III playoffs. Olympian will vie for an at-large berth.
The divisional playoffs face off Tuesday, Nov. 11.
Update:
Oay Ranch defeated Olympian, 10-2, in a non-league game on Friday to jump past Bonita Vista into the No. 4 spot in the Division III power rankings, moving the Barons down to No. 5. The top four teams receive byes in the playoffs.
Metro Conference
Boys Water Polo Standings
(Through Nov. 7)
Mesa League
Mar Vista Mariners 10-0, 25-4
Eastlake Titans 8-2, 21-8
Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders 3-7, 12-12
Hilltop Lancers 3-7, 12-14
Otay Ranch Mustangs 3-7, 8-12
Bonita Vista Barons 3-7, 9-20
x-league champion
South Bay League
x-San Ysidro Cougars 8-0, 13-12
Olympian Eagles 5-3. 6-4
Chula Vista Spartans 4-4, 4-6
Castle Park Trojans 3-5, 3-5
Southwest Raiders 0-8, 0-14
x-league champion
San Diego Section Playoffs
(Seedings denoted)
Open Division
1. Cathedral Catholic (16-11)
2. Bishop’s (19-8)
3. Grossmont (22-8)
4. University City (22-6)
5. Coronado (15-12)
6. Westview (20-8)
7. La Jolla (15-13)
8. Torrey Pines (16-11)
Division I
1. Granite Hills (18-9)
2. Vista (14-14)
3. Carlsbad (15-13)
4. La Costa Canyon (16-10)
5. Valhalla (15-14)
6. Ramona (15-9)
7. San Pasqual (18-10)
8. Serra (10-8)
9. Mt. Carmel (12-15)
10. Scripps Ranch (12-13)
11. Poway (11-15)
12. Valley Center (11-15)
Division II
1. Fallbrook (23-7)
2. Mar Vista (25-4)
3. Del Norte (17-11)
4. Eastlake (21-8)
5. Clairemont (17-9)
6. Rancho Bernardo (12-16)
7. Monte Vista (18-9)
8. La Jolla Coutry Day (14-12)
9. Helix (15-12)
10. Steele Canyon (9-13)
11. Patrick Henry (10-16)
12. Mater Dei Catholic (12-12)
First round:
Tuesday, Nov. 11
(12) Mater Dei Catholic (12-12) vs. (5) Clairemont (17-9) at Mater Dei Catholic HS, 3 p.m.
Quarterfinals:
Friday, Nov. 14
La Jolla High School
(1) Fallbrook (23-7) vs. La Jolla Country Day-Helix winner, 4 p.m.
(4) Eastlake (21-8) vs. Mater Dei Catholic-Clairemont winner, 5:15 p.m.
(3) Del Norte (17-11) vs. Patrick Henry-Rancho Bernardo winner, 6:30 p.m.
(2) Mar Vista (25-4) vs. Steele Canyon-Monte Vista winner, 7:45 p.m.
Division III
1. San Marcos (22-4)
2. El Camino (14-13)
3. Mission Hills (13-11)
4. Otay Ranch (8-12)
5. Bonita Vista (9-20)
6. Classical Academy (10-10)
7. San Ysidro (13-12)
8. Olympian (6-4)
9. San Dieguito Academy (8-20)
10. Oceanside (4-7)
11. Chula Vista (4-6)
12. Castle Park (3-5)
First-round:
Tuesday, Nov. 11
(5) Bonita Vista (9-20) vs. (12) Castle Park (3-5), 10:30 a.m. at Loma Verde pool
(6) Classical Academy (10-10) vs. (11) Chula Vista (4-6), TBA
(8) Olympian (6-4) vs. (9) San Dieguito Academy (8-20), noon at Loma Verde pool
(7) San Ysidro (13-12) vs. (10) Oceanside (4-7), 1:30 p.m. at Mater Dei Catholic HS
Quarterfinals:
Thursday, Nov. 13
La Jolla High School
(1) San Marcos (22-4) vs. Olympian-San Dieguito Academy winner, 4 p.m.
(4) Otay Ranch (8-12) vs. Bonita Vista-Castle Park winner, 5:15 p.m.
(3) Mission Hills (13-11) vs. Chula Vista-Classical Academy winner, 6:30 p.m.
(2) El Camino (14-13) vs. San Ysidro-Oceanside winner, 7:45 p.m.
