As the Eastlake High School boys water polo team prepared to play its second-to-last regular season game, Titan head coach Austin Legg was asked to assess his team’s play entering the San Diego Section playoffs.
He was highly complimentary — and also highly optimistic.
“I think we’re ready,” explained Legg. “We’ve had a lot of preparation to put things together. It looks like we’re healthy. We’re ready to go. I feel pretty confident about CIF.”
The Titans indeed brought it on in big-time fashion, and will play in Saturday’s Division II championship game after sinking top-seeded Poway, 9-7, in Wednesday’s semifinals at La Jolla High School.
Fifth-seeded Eastlake (22-10) will play second-seeded San Marcos (24-7) for the division trophy after the Knights downed third-seeded Valley Center, 6-4, in Wednesday’s other semifinal contest.
Saturday’s Division II championship game is slated for a 2:30 p.m. start at LJHS.
Wednesday’s semifinal victory built on the momentum gleaned from the Titans’ 16-13 overtime decision in last Friday’s quarterfinals over fourth-seeded Del Norte (22-8).
Eastlake, this year’s Mesa League championship team, enters Saturday’s championship game riding an eight-game winning streak. The Titans finished 10-0 in league play to capture their seventh league banner in the last eight years.
Eastlake is making its first CIF finals appearance after reaching the division semifinals last season.
The Titans opened this year’s playoff run with an 11-8 first-round win over 12th-seeded Patrick Henry (8-12) on Nov. 10 and are 3-0 in post-season play.
Eastlake carried play throughout Wednesday’s semifinal tilt by carving a 6-2 lead in the first quarter. Poway (22-9) narrowed the Titan lead to 6-5 in the third quarter but the Mesa League champions refused to give up the lead.
Nate Niehaus, Will Johnston and Mitch Lannom — three of 10 seniors on this year’s EHS squad — each scored three goals while Zach Randall contributed five assists and Aaron Aitchison made 13 blocks.
The Knights, who defeated 10th-seeded Clairemont, 10-7, in the quarterfinals, were paced by Trevor Smith’s three goals while goalie Dylan Hurd made nine saves, seven of them in the second half. Owen Sedej keyed Poway with three goals while Valley Center (19-10) received two goals from Jared Schaner.
Prior to meeting Eastlake in the semifinals, Poway edged Rancho Bernardo, 11-10, in an overtime quarterfinal contest.
Eastlake’s water warriors have a chance to match what the school’s girls water polo team did last winter by winning the division title. The Lady Titans finished as 2014-15 Division III champions.
San Marcos’s boys team won last year’s Division III championship before moving up to the Division II competition tier this season.
- 3 BARONS MAKE SPLASH WITH 10-9 OT WIN OVER NO. 2 LANCERS
With seven Metro Conference teams advancing to this year’s San Diego Section Division III playoffs, head-to-head match-ups between South County squads was a given — and, as it turned out, a reality.
Third-seeded Bonita Vista edged second-seeded Hilltop, 10-9, in overtime in Tuesday’s division semifinals to advance to Saturday’s championship game where the Barons (20-11) will play top-seeded Point Loma (24-4) at 12:15 p.m. at La Jolla High School.
Three of the four teams involved in Tuesday’s Division III semifinals were from the Metro Conference, which might set a record. Fourth-seeded Otay Ranch (15-13) just missed joining Bonita Vista in the finals after dropping a 13-9 decision to the top-seeded Pointers.
It was the second consecutive trip to the semifinals for the Mustangs.
The Barons will be making their first trip to a division final since 1995. Bonita Vista lost, 14-13, to Point Loma in a San Diego Open tournament game on Oct. 29. That was the teams’ only regular season meeting.
Hilltop (15-10) had defeated Bonita Vista twice in league play, though the Barons held leads in both games. Bonita Vista once again coughed up a late lead to the Lancers in Tuesday’s semifinals, though the Barons made the third time the charm by claiming the overtime victory.
Freshman standout Emiliano Castro led Bonita Vista with five goals, though senior Diego Gomez scored the game-winner in OT.
BVHS senior goalie Diego Sanchez came up strong with 12 saves. Gomez and Sanchez are among 13 seniors on this year’s Baron squad.
Emilio Maldonado led the Lancers with four goals. It was his goal on a five-meter penalty shot with four seconds remaining in regulation play that sent the game into overtime.
Five Metro teams competed in the eight-team Division III quarterfinals on Nov. 12.
The Barons defeated 11th-seeded El Capitan, 8-5, while Hilltop sank 10th-seeded San Ysidro, 15-3, behind six goals by Maldonado and two each by Austin Kober, Anthony Torroll and Ryan Sears.
Otay Ranch eliminated fifth-seeded Mater Dei Catholic, 8-5.
Eddie Rosenfeld led the Mustangs with five goals in Tuesday’s semifinal loss to Point Loma.
Lancers putting it together when it counts in boys water polo playoffs
The Hilltop High School boys water polo team found the winning formula at the right time of the season to advance to Monday’s San Diego Section Division III semifinals.
The Lancers, seeded second, defeated 10th-seeded San Ysidro, 15-3, in Thursday’s quarterfinal match-up at La Jolla High School in a meeting of teams from the Metro Conference’s Mesa League (Hilltop) and South Bay League (San Ysidro).
San Ysidro finished as South Bay League co-champions this year while Hilltop finished runner-up to Eastlake in the Mesa League standings.
With nine Metro teams qualifying for this year’s playoff pool, including seven in Division III, there were bound to be head-to-head match-ups featuring South County teams.
That will continue into Monday’s semifinals when Hilltop (15-9) meets third-seeded Bonita Vista (19-11) in a game slated for 7:30 p.m. at La Jolla High School. The winner advances to meet the semifinal winner between top-seeded Point Loma (23-4) and fourth-seeded Otay Ranch (15-12).
In a match-up of Mesa League rivals in Thursday’s quarterfinals, Otay Ranch topped fifth-seeded Mater Dei Catholic 8-5. The Crusaders ended the season 14-12 overall.
Emilio Maldonado led Hilltop with six goals in the quarterfinal win over the Cougars (10-16).
Hilltop pounced on the Cougars early, posting a 6-0 lead after the opening quarter and leading 10-0 at halftime.
The Lancers carried a 11-1 lead into the final quarter.
Austin Kober, Anthony Torroll and Ryan Sears each scored two goals while Josh Fischer. Andres Uribe and Emilio Cruz each scored once.
Sears, Torroll, Uribe and Fischer each picked up two assist while Caleb Macias and Maldonado each had one assist.
Fischer, Uribe, Maldonado and Austin Kober each led the team with three steals while Torroll and Ryan Sears and Skylar Garces each had two steals and Cruz had one steal.
Maldonado earned five ejections in the game while Torroll 1, Uribe and Kober each earned on ejection.
Maldonado earned two five-meter penalty shots while Kober earned one five-meter ejection.
Goalie Danny Godinez, returning after a three-game absence due to illness, made 15 saves in the game.
“Everyone was pretty excited to be in the playoffs,” noted Fischer, Hilltop’s senior two-meter guard. “All of our team players really contributed to the win. Our team played as a whole.”
In a pair of pre-playoff meetings, Hilltop shaded Bonita Vista in a pair of hotly-contested league encounters by scores of 9-7 and 10-8.
San Diego Section
Boys Water Polo Playoffs
Open Division
First Round
Quarterfinals
La Jolla High School
Saturday, Nov. 14
(8) Westview vs. (1) Cathedral Catholic, 1:30 p.m.
(5) Grossmont vs (4) Torrey Pines, 2:45 p.m.
(6) University Vity vs. (3) Bishop’s, 4 p.m.
(7) Carlsbad vs. (2) Coronado, 5:15 p.m.
Results
Cathedral Catholic 20, Westview 9
Grossmont 13, Torrey Pines 12
Bishop’s 17, University City 6
Coroando 7, Carlsbad 5
Semifinals
La Jolla HIgh School
Thursday, Nov. 19
(1) Cathedral Catholic vs. (5) Grossmont, 5:45 p.m.
(3) Bishop’s winner vs. (2) Coronado, 7:30 p.m.
Results
Cathedral Catholic 16, Grossmont 9
Coronado 5, Bishop’s 2
Championship
La Jolla High School
Saturday, Nov. 21
(1) Cathedral Catholic vs. (2) Coronado, 7 p.m.
Final: (1) Cathedral Catholic 11, (2) Coronado 6
Division I
First Round
Wednesday, Nov. 11
(8) Scripps Ranch 10, (9) Santana 9
(5) Granite Hills 14, (12) Mar Vista 4
(6) La Costa Canyon 10, (11) Mt. Carmel 9
(10) Canyon Crest Academy 12, (7) Serra 7
Quarterfinals
La Jolla High School
Saturday, Nov. 14
(1) Valhalla vs. (8) Scripps Ranch, 8:30 a.m.
(4) Fallbrook vs. (5) Granite Hills, 9:45 a.m.
(3) Vista vs. (6) La Costa Canyon, 11 a.m.
(2) La Jolla vs. (10) Canyon Crest Academy, 12:15 p.m.
Results
Valhalla 11, Scripps Ranch 9 (OT)
Fallbrook 9, Granite Hills 8 (OT)
Vista 16, La Costa Canyon 6
La Jolla 21, Canyon Crest Academy 11
Semifinals
La Jolla HIgh School
Wednesday, Nov. 18
(1) Valhalla vs. (5) Fallbrook, 5:45 p.m.
(3) Vista vs. (2) La Jolla, 7:30 p.m.
Results
Valhalla 11, Fallbrook 9
La Jolla 7, Vista 6
Championship
La Jolla High School
Saturday, Nov. 21
(1) Valhalla vs. (2) La Jolla, 4:45 p.m.
Final: (2) La Jolla 10, (1) Valhalla 2
Division II
Play-in Round
Tuesday, Nov. 10
Patrick Henry 17, West Hills 11
First Round
Tuesday, Nov. 10
(9) Rancho Bernardo 9, (8) El Camino 7
(6) La Jolla Country Day 11, (11) Steele Canyon 4
(10) Clairemont 12, (7) San Pasqual 7
Wednesday, Nov. 11
(5) Eastlake 10, (12) Patrick Henry 7
Quarterfinals
La Jolla High School
Friday, Nov. 13
(9) Rancho Bernardo vs. (1) Poway
(5) Eastlake (20-10) vs. (4) De Norte
(6) La Jolla Country Day vs. (3) Valley Center
(10) Clairemont vs. San Marcos
Results
Poway 11, Rancho Bernardo 10
Eastlake 16, Del Norte 13 (OT)
Valley Center 11, La Jolla Country Day 7
San Marcos 10, Clairemont 7
Semifinals
La Jolla High School
Tuesday, Nov. 17
(1) Poway (21-8) vs. Eastlake (21-10), 5:45 p.m.
(3) Valley Center (17-8) vs. San Marcos (23-7), 7:30 p.m.
Results
Eastlake 9, Poway 7
San Marcos 6, Valley Center 4
Championship
La Jolla High School
Saturday, Nov. 21
(5) Eastlake (22-10) vs. (1) San Marcos (24-7), 2:30 p.m.
Final: (1) San Marcos 9, (5) Eastlake 8 (OT)
Division III
First Round
Tuesday, Nov. 10
(9) Mission Bay 16, (8) Olympian 8
(5) Mater Dei Catholic 17, (12) Southwest 5
(11) El Capoitan 12, (6) San Dieguito Academy 9
(10) San Ysidro 10, (7) Escondido 7
Quarterfinals
La Jolla High School
Thursday, Nov. 12
(1) Point Loma 16, (9) MIssion Bay 2
(4) Otay Ranch 8, (5) Mater Dei Catholic 5
(3) Bonita Vista 8, (11) El Capitan 5
(2) Hilltop 15, (10) San Ysidro 3
Semifinals
La Jolla High School
Monday, Nov. 16
(1) Point Loma (23-4) vs. Otay Ranch (14-12), 5:45 p.m.
(2) Hilltop (15-9) vs. (3) Bonita Vista (19-11), 7:30 p.m.
Results
(1) Point Loma 13, (4) Otay Ranch 9
(3) Bonita Vista 10, (2) Hilltop 9
Championship
La Jolla High School
Saturday, Nov. 21
(1) Point Loma (24-4) vs. (3) Bonita Vista (20-11), 12:15 p.m.
Final: (1) Point Loma 13, (3) Bonita Vista 6
