Mira Costa Advances in Water Polo

The Mira Costa High water polo team opened the Southern Section Division III playoffs Thursday at El Camino College with what appeared to be a convincing first-round win over Placentia Valencia, 16-5.

However, Mira Costa Coach Mike Nollan didn’t seem to think his team’s performance reflected the final score.

“We played pretty well, but at other times we didn’t play well at all,” Nollan said. “Valencia (7-17) is a good team and we expected them to play well. But, I’m a little worried about lapses.”

Mira Costa (21-6), which lost to Costa Mesa in the 1992 semifinals, jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the first quarter.

Daniel Stephenson led the way for Mira Costa with three goals and an assist in the opening quarter. He finished with seven goals and three assists.

“To us he’s like a low-post guy in basketball,” Nollan said. “We don’t always expect him to get the shot. We look for him to pass, get fouled or take the shot. Today he did an excellent job of scoring.”

According to Nollan, Valencia’s ability to tip shots in front of the net was something he was concerned about and tried to address after the first quarter.

“They were very effective with that play, but we just sent the goalie out or crashed from the side,” Nollan said. “I was happy we were able to take that away from them.”

Paul Barr’s three goals and Sean Nollan’s two scores helped Mira Costa build a 13-3 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Mira Costa will now play the winner of the Upland-Palm Desert match on Saturday. If Upland wins, the game site will be determined by a coin flip, but if Palm Desert wins, Mira Costa will play host to the game.

“We have to play a lot better than we just did to get to where we were last year,” Nollan said. “The game increases as far as skill and effort the further you get into the playoffs.”