Miraleste Tankers Breeze in Playoffs

Ocean League champion Miraleste breezed through the first round of CIF 2-A water polo playoffs Thursday, but Mira Costa and El Segundo didn’t, falling in close games that had one coach crying foul.

Miraleste, playing at home, defeated Western of Anaheim, 19-10, while Mira Costa lost at La Palma to Kennedy, 4-2. El Segundo lost at Agoura, 11-10.

Mira Costa led, 1-0, on a goal by Matt Lutton, but Kennedy came back to take a 2-1 lead at halftime and stretched it to 3-1 in the third quarter. Noah Willard scored to cut the deficit to 3-2. Kennedy got the final goal with three minutes left and ran out the clock.

Mira Costa had two goals called back when an official ruled the Mustang players were standing on the bottom of the pool. However, Mira Costa Coach Mike Nollan claims the same official allowed Kennedy to play under similar circumstances. Though officials’ judgment calls can’t be protested, the incensed Nollan said he will send a complaint to the CIF, saying, “We lost because of the official.”

Nollan said: “Two (Mira Costa) goals were called back while (Kennedy) got three shot attempts standing on the bottom and no calls were made. One official made or refused to make all five of those calls. It was blatantly biased.”

Mira Costa finished at 13-14.

Miraleste, the third seed, easily held off Western, building an 11-4 halftime lead. Ocean League most valuable player Kyle Hildebrand led the attack with seven goals and got support from Andy Foster with five and Zoltan Gyurko with four. The Marauders’ David Reed was outstanding in goal as Miraleste improved to 20-5.

Miraleste led after one quarter, 5-2, and ballooned the lead to 17-10 after three periods, allowing the reserves to finish the game. The Marauders will face Alhambra in the second round Saturday.

El Segundo, the underdog against Frontier League champion Agoura, played evenly throughout. The game was tied, 2-2, after a quarter, 8-8 after three periods and was 10-10 going into the last minute. El Segundo sophomore goalie Chris Lubba, trying to avoid a steal, held the ball under water and Agoura was awarded a penalty shot. It was converted, giving Agoura the winning goal with 31 seconds left.

For the Eagles, who finish 7-12, Darrel Schumann scored four goals, Robert Ingersoll three, Tim McGoldrick two and Mike Whitney one.