Flintridge Prep boys’ water polo falls to No. 2 seed Notre Dame
SHERMAN OAKS — After gaining its traction, the Flintridge Prep boys’ water polo team put together a fine final two weeks of the regular season.
The Rebels picked up some momentum, sharing the Prep League title before punching their ticket to the CIF Southern Section Division IV playoffs.
Flintridge Prep’s season came to an end where it began following an 18-10 road defeat against second-seeded Sherman Oaks Notre Dame on Thursday in a second-round match.
Flintridge Prep, which split the league championship with Chadwick and Brentwood, finished 14-12-1. Notre Dame improved to 16-11 after sharing the Mission League title with Harvard-Westlake.
“We went into the playoffs with an open mind knowing Division IV would be tough,” said Flintridge Prep Coach Dan Hare, whose team began the playoffs with a 14-11 win against San Luis Obispo. “Notre Dame is not a fluke and we knew they’d be a tough team to play again.
“They are strong in every facet of the game, from having speed on offense and defense to getting a lot of counter-attacks. Their transition game is something else. I think we were a little shell-shocked and they got a lot of steals and it became 7-1 just like that.”
The Rebels started and finished their season on the road against the Knights, as Notre Dame posted a 15-11 nonleague home victory against Flintridge Prep on Sept. 7 in Prep’s season opener.
On Thursday, the Knights jumped out quick and had the Rebels on their heels throughout most of the 28-minute contest.
Daniel Escovar scored a pair of goals 27 seconds apart early in the first quarter to give Notre Dame a 2-0 lead. Flintridge Prep’s Scott Fordham sliced the lead in half with 4:40 left in the first quarter before Notre Dame scored five goals in a row in the final four minutes to make it 7-1.
Kasen Barraclough scored to pull Flintridge Prep, which lost in the first round of the playoffs last season, to within 7-3 with 6:33 remaining in the second quarter. Notre Dame, which received seven goals apiece from Escovar and Max Sprute, held a 10-4 halftime advantage. Escovar finished with four first-half goals.
Flintridge Prep and Notre Dame each scored four goals in the third quarter, as the Knights held a 14-8 lead.
Ian Tien brought the Rebels to within 13-8 on a goal with 26 seconds left in the quarter. Notre Dame countered with a goal from Evan Suong with five seconds left to make it 14-8.
Fordham, a senior, said the Rebels had difficulty trying to match the Knights’ speed at both ends of the pool.
“We made a few mistakes and they capitalized when they needed to,” said Fordham, who finished with a team-best three goals. “We let it get away from us in the first quarter. We tried to fight back, but it just wasn’t enough.”
Flintridge Prep received two goals apiece from Barraclough, Tien and Hakop Kaplanyan.
Suong collected two goals for Notre Dame, which got 16 saves from Johnny Hirn.
Hare said the Rebels made some strides throughout the season.
“There were a few different narratives,” Hare said. “Last year, we overachieved and then we found our identity this year.
“We had to win our last two league games against Brentwood and Chadwick. Then we won a playoff game before going up against Notre Dame. It turned out to be a last couple of great weeks.”
