HIGH SCHOOL WATER POLO / SOUTHERN SECTION FINAL : Kiefer Keys Harvard’s Win Over La Serna

Coach Rich Corso looked at his Harvard-Westlake High water polo team at halftime of its Southern Section 3-A Division final against La Serna and noticed that the Wolverines did not appear fatigued.

“Coach told us to turn up the heat,” junior forward Jim Toring said. “He told us, ‘None of you are tired.’ ”

Trailing by a goal at the break, the Wolverines burned the top-seeded Lancers for five second-half goals en route to a 9-5 victory at Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool in Long Beach.

Toring had three goals to pace Harvard’s attack, but the Wolverines (29-3) won because of their defense. Sparked by sophomore goalie Peter Kiefer with 13 saves, eight in the second half, the second-seeded Wolverines shut down La Serna.

Lance Weidner scored on a power play with 3 minutes 15 seconds left in the third quarter to even the score, 5-5, and Toring’s hard shot from the point found the right corner to make it 6-5 with 35 second left in the period.

In between, Kiefer kept the Lancers at bay with three crucial saves and then gave Harvard some breathing room in the fourth quarter with another save and a nice outlet pass to Mark Townsend for a fast-break goal with 4:25 remaining.

“Peter’s pass to Townsend broke the game open for us,” Corso said. “Once we got up by two goals, we said, ‘OK, let’s play zone (on defense).’ I was just waiting for that moment.”

Harvard’s switch from an aggressive man-to-man defense to zone further bolstered its counterattack and the Wolverines salted away the championship with goals by Alan Paul and Ryan Salceda.

It was a crushing loss for the Lancers (27-4), who earlier had beaten Harvard, 10-9, in the final of their tournament. The Lancers, who beat the Wolverines in the quarterfinals last year, finished as the 3-A runners-up for the second year in a row.

Mike Duran had a pair of second-quarter goals for La Serna. But after rebounding from a 3-1 deficit early in the second quarter, the Lancers couldn’t come back again.

Corso had special praise for Kiefer. “Peter’s matured two years in two months,” Corso said.

Kiefer also credited his defense for shutting out the Lancers in the final 14 minutes. “If you play good enough defense, you never know what might happen,” he said. “We definitely deserved this.”