Water polo: Mater Dei holds on for 9-8 win over Harvard-Westlake in Division 1 final

Santa Ana Mater Dei ended Harvard-Westlake’s two-year reign as Southern Section Division 1 water polo champs with a 9-8 win over the Wolverines on Saturday night in the Division 1 final in irvine.

The Monarchs came on strong in the second half and used a stingy defense to stop Harvard-Westlake standout Ben Hallock.

Luke Wyatt broke an 8-8 tie with a goal for Mater Dei with 2 1/2 minutes left. Then the Monarchs’ defense did the rest. It was Mater Dei’s third consecutive one-goal win over Harvard-Westlake this season.

Alec Mendelsohn had given Harvard-Westlake a lift with three goals in the third quarter.

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