THE PREPS : WATER POLO ROUNDUP : Foothill Loses First of Season in Tournament Final, 11-10

Foothill, the top-ranked team in Orange County and the Southern Section Division I, fell from the unbeaten ranks and lost to Long Beach Wilson, 11-10, in the final of the Southern California water polo tournament Saturday at Heritage Park in Irvine.

Wilson (12-2), ranked second in Division I, trailed by two with 5 minutes 7 seconds remaining in the third quarter. But the Bruins gained momentum by scoring five goals in the period to take a one-goal lead into the final period.

Adam Wright scored six goals for Wilson, which scored four of the third-quarter goals on man-advantage situations.

Foothill (15-1) closed to within one twice in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t tie it. Brian Brown scored on a four-meter penalty shot to make it, 9-8, with 4 minutes 56 seconds remaining.

But Wilson’s Peter Joseph, who scored three goals, answered by beating Foothill goalie Ryan Brown from the hole to make it 10-8.

Foothill’s Scott Hay scored his third goal off an assist from Rob Arroyo--who scored three goals-- cutting Wilson’s lead to one with 2:49 remaining.

But Wilson cashed in on another six-on-five situation when Wright scored off a rebound with 1:29 remaining to make it 11-9.

Foothill took 11 shots in the fourth quarter, but Wilson goalie Nick Hill made seven of his 11 saves in the period to anchor the defense and preserve the victory.

In the third-place game:

San Clemente 9, El Toro 8 (OT)--Colin Shaugnessy scored the game-winning goal with 2:12 remaining in overtime for San Clemente (9-5), ranked eighth in the county.

Shane Lindstrom scored from the hole with 23 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the score, 8-8, and send the game into overtime for El Toro (14-5), ranked fourth in the county.

In the North Orange County water polo tournament consolation championship:

Saddleback 12, Dana Hills 8--Johnny Roy scored nine goals for Saddleback (9-7).

In a consolation game:

Brea Olinda 6, Mission Viejo 5--Taylor Lowe scored three goals to lead Brea Olinda (12-7).

In an Orange water polo tournament consolation game:

Loara 9, Garden Grove 7--Mike Timanus scored seven goals for Loara (7-8).

In the Walnut girls’ water polo tournament championship game:

Fountain Valley 9, Walnut 8--Carol Whalen scored the winning goal as Fountain Valley (10-2) scored four fourth-quarter goals. Sunny Yacenda, who had scored six goals in the game, had the other three goals.

In the Thousand Oaks girls’ water polo tournament:

Santa Margarita 11, Newberry Park 0--Katie Ferguson scored three goals for Santa Margarita (10-3) in a pool play game.

Ferguson also scored six goals in an earlier victory over the University of Arizona club team, 7-5.