Boys’ Water Polo: Breakers prevail in OT
PALOS VERDES — With its location several miles from the freeway, getting to Palos Verdes High is tough enough. But the Laguna Beach High boys’ water polo team also didn’t have a mode of transportation early Tuesday afternoon.
“We were sitting around for an hour and half wondering where our bus was,” Coach Trevor Lyle said. “The school didn’t know where it was, the bus yard didn’t know where it was. It left at 11:30, it was supposed to be there at 12, and we’re sitting around at 1:40 with no bus at our campus.”
A bus finally arrived, and the Breakers left about 90 minutes late for their key Division 2 clash against the Sea Kings. The game was pushed back an hour.
The game, like the ride to Palos Verdes, proved difficult. But as it has all season, Laguna Beach came through at the end against a divisional opponent.
Sophomore Colton Gregory scored a season-high nine goals as the Breakers beat Palos Verdes, 15-12 in overtime, in the nonleague contest.
Laguna Beach (17-8), the top-ranked team in Division 2, stayed undefeated against opponents in its division. Palos Verdes (18-7) is ranked No. 8 in Division 2.
Senior co-captain Camden Benson had three goals and four steals for the Breakers, who got a goal each from senior co-captain Judge Washer, Peter Weiland and Will Clark. Senior goalie Gordon Pike had 15 saves and four steals.
But the Breakers, who had an 8-1 lead late in the second quarter and still led 8-3 at halftime, gave the lead all back.
“We definitely took our foot off the gas late in the second quarter, and had trouble finding our rhythm again,” Lyle said. “We were not making good passes, good releases.”
Palos Verdes, led by senior Quinn Stoneman with five goals and five steals, mounted a comeback. Griffin Mactavish evened the score at 11-11 with a power play strike with 1:02 remaining in the fourth quarter. Both teams had another extra-man chance in the final minute but couldn’t convert, with Pike making a key man-down save with three seconds left.
Laguna Beach, which played without key junior Sebastian Jacobs, found its rhythm in the overtime. Gregory scored inside in the first three-minute overtime period. In the second one he scored again, using a quick move to beat Palos Verdes goalie Liam Foley, who had come out on the play.
Benson added a pair of counterattack goals to give Laguna Beach a 15-11 advantage.
“We condition a lot, and that feeds our counterattack,” Gregory said. “That helps us win games.”
The Breakers are proud of their Division 2 body of work, Gregory said. They have also beaten No. 2 Agoura, No. 3 Santa Margarita, No. 4 Murrieta Valley and No. 5 Long Beach Wilson.
“Division 2 is really deep,” Gregory said. “We come into any game not ready and we’ll lose, any given day.”
Once the Breakers actually get to the game, they are usually in good shape.
Laguna Beach plays host to Capistrano Valley on Nov. 1 before closing out its regular season at Newport Harbor on Nov. 4.
