Water polo championships to be decided Saturday in Irvine
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Five teams that were seeded No. 1 in the Southern Section Boys’ Water Polo Championships will be trying to live up to expectations on Saturday when the section crowns its five division champions. It doesn’t figure to be easy, however, because four teams seeded No. 2 will also be in the finals.
The highlight of the day should be the Division I pairing of top-seeded Newport Harbor (26-3), vying for its 12th title, against Northwood (16-10), which is in the finals for the second year in a row.
Goalkeeper Myles Christian blocked a tying shot at the buzzer for Newport Harbor in its 9-8 victory over fourth-seeded El Toro. The Sailors nearly wasted a 5-1 second-quarter lead.
Northwood reached the finals with a 6-5 semifinal victory over third-seeded Los Alamitos in which Travis Knoll scored the decisive goal with 17 seconds remaining.
The five title games will be broken into two three-game sessions at the William Wollett Jr. Aquatics Center in Heritage Park, right next to Irvine High.
The Division I finale is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. and is the final match of the second session. General admission for each session is $8 for adults and $5 for students and children.
Saturday’s schedule:
First session:
Division VI: El Segundo vs. Cerritos, 10 a.m. -- Top-seeded Cerritos should be the heavy favorite over El Segundo, the third-place team from the Ocean League.
Division V: Murrieta Valley vs. Redlands, 11:30 a.m. -- Top-seeded Murrieta Valley, which scored an 11-10 victory in the semifinals over Yucaipa, faces second-seeded Redlands, which hasn’t had a match closer than five goals in the playoffs.
Division II: Villa Park vs. Mater Dei, 1 p.m. -- Top-seeded Villa Park has had a fairly easy time of it through the playoffs, but second-seeded Mater Dei has had two close calls, a 13-11 victory over Arlington in the quarterfinals, and a 6-5 victory over Servite in the semisfinals.
Second session:
Division VI: Agoura vs. Mira Costa, 4 p.m. -- Top-seeded Agoura, which has breezed through its side of the bracket, faces second-seeded Mira Costa, which scored a 10-8 semifinal victory over Royal, the team that finished second to Agoura in the Marmonte League.
Division III: La Canada vs. Montebello, 5:30 p.m. -- Top-seeded La Canada outscored playoff opponents 53-15 to reach the finals, where it faces second-seeded Montebello, whose three playoff victories have been by scores of 13-6, 14-5 and 12-6.
Division I: Newport Harbor vs. Northwood, 7 p.m.
-- Martin Henderson
-- Image from www.2013volos.gr