LB Wilson Learns Why Corona del Mar Reigns in Water Polo

For one half Saturday, Long Beach Wilson High School proved it could play with Corona del Mar, the two-time defending Southern Section 4-A water polo champions.

The Bruins challenged shots, forced mistakes and controlled the tempo through the first two quarters.

But in a little less than three minutes, the Bruins learned why the Sea Kings are two-time champions.

Corona del Mar turned to its experience in the third quarter and the Bruins came undone. A flurry of goals by Gunnar Gustafson and Brandon Howald gave the Sea Kings a 10-4 victory in the championship game of the South Coast tournament at Newport Harbor High School.

It was the second consecutive year that Corona del Mar has won the tournament.

“I thought we were in good shape,” Wilson Coach Rick Jones said. “Then Corona del Mar took us to school.”

The Sea Kings (8-0), who led, 4-2, at halftime, scored four goals in the first 2 minutes 41 seconds of the second half and led, 9-2, going into the fourth quarter.

Gustafson started the barrage with a shot from the left wing just 30 seconds into the second half with the Sea Kings a man up. He scored again a minute later, also when the Bruins were down one player because of a penalty.

“We had a sophomore guarding him and after the second goal, he came over and told me playing Gunnar was like riding an E ticket at Disneyland,” Jones said.

Howald had three goals in the third quarter and finished with four in the game. He also assisted on two goals.

“We’ve had real good balance this year, but today we seemed to lean on Gunnar and Brandon,” Corona del Mar Coach John Vargas said. “But they are our experienced players and you need to go to them in championship games.”

Gustafson and Howald are the only returning starters from last season’s team. They are also the team’s top two scorers.

“They know how to win important games,” Jones said. “We don’t have anybody with that experience right now.”

Wilson (10-4) was in the game for two quarters. Corona del Mar took a 2-0 lead in the first quarter, but Wilson tied the score on a pair of goals by Peter Swerdloff.

The Sea Kings were rushing their shots and appeared confused at times in their offense. They also wasted three six-on-five opportunities.

“It seemed like Wilson had the ball for minutes at a time while we were throwing the ball away,” Vargas said. “I told the guys at the end of the quarter to take their time. We didn’t have to shoot so quickly.”

Howald scored early in the second quarter to give the Sea Kings a 3-2 lead. He then lobbed a pass to Ryan Weir, who tipped the ball into the right corner of the net.

It gave the Sea Kings a 4-2 halftime lead.

“We had a lot of opportunities in the first half and wasted them,” Vargas said. “We had a lot more opportunities in the second half and cashed them in. That’s about it.”

In the third-place game:

Villa Park 6, El Toro 4--Gavin Arroyo scored three goals for the Spartans (12-3). Villa Park led, 3-1, at halftime but the Chargers (8-4) tied the score on goals by J.P. Mathot and Ken Nickel, whos scored two goals. Eric Johnson gave the Spartans a 4-3 lead late in the third quarter. Arroyo and Chris Kindt scored to increase the lead to 6-3 midway through the final quarter.