PREP PLAYOFF ROUNDUP : Costa Mesa Holds Off Brea in Water Polo

Costa Mesa, the second-seeded team in the Southern Section 2-A Division water polo playoffs, held off a frantic fourth-quarter charge to defeat Brea-Olinda, 10-8, Saturday.

Corey Delahunt scored five goals to lead Costa Mesa (16-9) in a game that had the makings of a rout. Costa Mesa dominated almost every aspect of the game in taking a 3-0 first-quarter lead.

But Brea-Olinda’s Jason Bird scored two goals in the second quarter and Delahunt scored again to make the halftime score 4-2.

Brea-Olinda pulled to within 4-3 when Bird scored with 4:45 left in the third quarter. But Costa Mesa outscored Brea-Olinda, 5-2, during the rest of the third quarter and had a 9-5 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Brea Coach Jim Armstrong took extra time at the end of three quarters to talk to his players.

“Basically I told them either fold up your tents and go home or give the fans a show,” Armstrong said.

They opted for the latter.

The Wildcats stole three passes and scored three-consecutive goals to pull within 9-8 with 3:31 left to play. Then, instead of double-teaming the two-meter man, Brea-Olinda put one man in front of him, and it helped disrupt the Costa Mesa offense.

But the turning point came with 2:30 left to play. Brea-Olinda had a six-on-five advantage but was forced into taking a bad shot. Costa Mesa counterattacked and was able to get a man-advantage with 2:13 left to play. Matt Yamashita scored with a shot that rebounded off the crossbar for the final goal.