Laguna Beach Rallies to Win, Advances to Division Finals

Laguna Beach had been there before, just not in a Southern Section semifinal game.

Trailing by four late in the third quarter Saturday at Trabuco Hills High, the Artists rallied by scoring six consecutive goals to defeat Servite, 9-8, and advance to their first division water polo final since 1974.

Third-seeded Laguna Beach (23-7) will meet El Dorado, a 12-9 winner over top-seeded Los Alamitos, in the Division II championship game Wednesday at Belmont Plaza.

The Artists were down by two goals at the start of the fourth quarter against La Habra in Wednesday’s quarterfinals, and trailed by three in the final quarter against league-rival Costa Mesa earlier this season. Each time, Laguna Beach gathered enough energy to bounce back to win.

Saturday, Laguna Beach watched as second-seeded Servite jumped to a 7-3 halftime lead, and the Friars held the same advantage nearly five minutes into the third quarter.

That’s when Laguna Beach Coach Rick Scott used his first timeout and begged his team to cut the deficit before the quarter ended.

Evan Lutz responded by scoring a man-advantage goal with 2:03 left in the quarter, and Lutz then cut the Friars’ lead to 7-5 with another six-on-five goal with 23 seconds left.

About two minutes into the fourth quarter Spencer Dornin converted a penalty shot to make it 7-6, and Dornin tied it a minute later when he lofted a shot over goalkeeper Matt Mountcastle.

After a spirited timeout, Josh Robusto gave the Artists their final lead with a shot that skipped through the hands of Mountcastle and into the top of the goal with 2:54 remaining.

Both teams traded goals in the final two minutes, and Servite had a final possession with 17 seconds remaining, but goalkeeper Kai Bond stopped a backhand attempt by Chris Hamme at the buzzer.