WATER POLO ROUNDUP : Esperanza, Servite Get Final Berths

Jason Mericle scored the game-winning goal and made a crucial steal in the closing seconds as top-seeded Esperanza defeated Tustin, 9-8, in a Division II water polo semifinal Saturday at Independence Park in Fullerton.

Tustin (18-11) took possession of the ball with 54 seconds left after blocking two Esperanza shots.

The Tillers tried to work the ball in to Jim Lowe, but Mericle stole the ball with 20 seconds left, and the Aztecs ran out the clock.

Esperanza (20-7) advances to play Servite in the Division II final Wednesday at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach.

With his team struggling on offense, Aztec Coach Doug Kimberly credited the defense for the victory.

“I think Ben (Breig) and (goalie) Pete (Lange) did a great job on defense,” Kimberly said. “They’ve been tenacious the last few weeks, and you need good defense to win a championship-caliber game like this.”

Lange finished with 12 saves.

The Aztecs took a 4-3 halftime lead, then took control of the game midway through the third quarter. Mike Stanley scored three goals in a three-minute span, giving Esperanza a 7-3 lead.

The Aztecs held an 8-5 lead entering the fourth quarter, but Tustin’s Jason Box scored with 5:12 left, making it 8-6.

Mericle scored his goal with four minutes left, then Tustin got goals from David Foley with 3:20 left, and Tom Valterria with 1:30 left.

Stanley led Esperanza with five goals, giving him a school-record 112 for the season. David Foley, Mike Foley and Valterria scored two goals each for Tustin.

In another Division II semifinal:

Servite 17, Marina 14--Rob Mattivi and Brian Heifferon scored five goals each as Servite (22-7) prevailed without leading scorer Jerry Smith.

Smith, who has 114 goals this season, had to sit out Saturday’s game because of a major penalty he received in the Friars’ quarterfinal victory Wednesday over Los Alamitos.

Servite took an 8-3 halftime lead, and Mattivi scored four second-half goals, helping the Friars to a 14-7 lead early in the fourth quarter.

“I thought the kids picked up the slack real well,” Servite Coach Jim Sprague said. “I never thought we’d get 17 goals on their goalie. We had a lot of fluke goals go in.”

Stever O’Rourke led Marina (18-12) with seven goals, four in the fourth quarter. Lance Banuk added four.

In a Division VI semifinal:

Brea-Olinda 11, Chino Hills Ayala 5--Tad Murphy scored five goals and Eric Matthews added three for visiting Brea-Olinda, which advances to play Rowland Heights Rowland Wednesday at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach.