Boys’ Water Polo: Laguna Beach opens league play with easy win against Costa Mesa
The Laguna Beach High boys’ water polo team has never lost an Orange Coast League game, but the Breakers are also fully aware of their biggest competition in league play.
In recent years, that has been Costa Mesa, and the teams again expect this year to finish top two in the standings.
In terms of the best team in the league, though, the Breakers left no doubt with their performance at Costa Mesa High on Wednesday afternoon.
Sophomore Colton Gregory led the way with five goals and the Breakers blitzed the host Mustangs, 15-4.
It was the 51st straight league win for Laguna Beach (10-6, 2-0 in league). The Breakers took a big step in securing their 11th straight league title since the league was formed in 2006.
“Obviously, Costa Mesa is our main opponent that we are focused on for a league title,” Laguna Beach Coach Trevor Lyle said. “Each year, they’ve been an improving program that we’ve had to prepare for. I was very happy with the way the guys executed today ... I thought they played really well, especially on the defensive side. I thought they played a heavy press, did a good job dictating where shots were coming from for the most part. And then that led to our counterattack, it fueled our offense.”
The Breakers, the top-ranked team in CIF Southern Section Division 2, got three goals from junior Sebastian Jacobs and two each from Peter Weiland and Tommy Kennedy. Senior co-captain Camden Benson, Riley Bumgardner and Larsen McCarroll also scored, and senior goalie Gordon Pike made 13 big saves.
Benson had four steals to lead Laguna Beach, which had 18 steals in the contest compared to nine for Costa Mesa. Jacobs and Weiland each had three steals for the Breakers.
“A great game starts with defense,” said Benson, one of two senior co-captains along with Judge Washer. “We need to have our goalie’s back, and we need to be flying around everywhere and talking the whole time.”
Laguna Beach quieted the home crowd by scoring five goals in the first four minutes of the game. But the Mustangs (8-5, 1-1), who are ranked No. 8 in Division 3, responded. Junior Tony Shin scored Mesa’s first goal, then sophomore Caedmon Fisher struck on the power play to bring the Mustangs within 5-2 after the first quarter.
Fisher, the talented lefty who led the Mustangs with three goals, then beat a double team to narrow the deficit to two on the opening possession of the second quarter. From there, however, Laguna Beach went on a 5-0 run to end the half with a commanding 10-3 advantage.
“They’re a tough, physical team,” said Costa Mesa Coach Cody Serrano, whose team finished in third place at the Newport Rib Classic tournament it hosted last weekend. “They’ve been doing that for years to us. We just didn’t want to come out and match their physicality and aggressiveness from the start. We had spurts of it, but we needed four full quarters of it, and we just didn’t want to play up to that level.”
Laguna Beach is aiming for its second CIF title in three years. Not only are the Breakers top-ranked in Division 2, but they’ve already beaten No. 2 Agoura, No. 3 Santa Margarita, No. 4 Murrieta Valley and No. 5 Long Beach Wilson in games this season. The Murrieta Valley win was the most recent, a 10-7 decision last Saturday.
The Breakers have another tough game on their schedule Thursday, as they play host to Dana Hills. Laguna Beach is ranked No. 7 in Orange County by the Register, with Dana Hills at No. 10.
“I think it’s going to be a very competitive game,” Lyle said. “Whenever we play a quality Division 1 team, we look forward to the opportunity to get better from those experiences.”
Costa Mesa plays host to Mission Viejo on Thursday.
