Showdown Time for Foothill and Wilson

Four regular-season games didn’t prove anything, so it’s only fitting that the Foothill and Long Beach Wilson water polo teams will decide matters in the Southern Section Division I final.

If tonight’s game at 8 at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach is anything like the first four between these teams, it will come down to one goal and will be decided in the late-going.

“It seems like the games stay close for basically 27 1/2 minutes and then get decided in the last 30 seconds or go into overtime,” Wilson Coach Ricardo Azevedo said. “But that’s good. That’s what everybody wants.

“Of course the parents complain that they are going to have heart attacks. That’s our job, right? To entertain people.”

The games have been close because the teams are so similar. Both have balanced offensive attacks, strong defenses and one of the best goalkeepers in the section.

Foothill, which won the Division I title last season, is led by senior Jeff Pflueger, who has 71 goals and 82 steals, junior Robby Arroyo, who has 51 goals and 30 assists, and junior goalkeeper Nick Ellis. The Knights (26-2) have five players who have scored at least 30 goals and eight who have scored at least 20.

Wilson (26-2) is led by Azevedo’s son, Tony, a freshman driver who has a team-high 91 goals, senior Peter Joseph, one of the section’s best defenders who has scored 70 goals, and senior goalkeeper Nick Hill, a first-team all-section pick in 1995. Wilson has five players who have scored between 35 and 45 goals.

Foothill’s main advantage in this game might be its experience. Most of the Knights’ top players were at Belmont last year when Foothill beat Villa Park for the Division I title.

Wilson, which beat Corona del Mar in the 1994 final and lost in the semifinals last year, is a young team. The Bruins have a freshman, a sophomore, three juniors and two seniors in the starting lineup.

Foothill Coach Jim Brumm expects another close game but believes his team is peaking at the right time. “I think we’re improving,” he said. “I think we are a lot better than we were when we last saw them, but I’m sure they think the same thing.”

The Division II final between El Dorado and Laguna Beach is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at Belmont Plaza.

Laguna Beach (23-7), seeded third, is led by junior Spencer Dornin and senior Grant McGann. The Artists, who beat El Dorado, 15-10, in the regular season, are making their first appearance in a section final since 1974.

Unseeded El Dorado (23-6) is led by Empire League most valuable player Kendall Benson. The Golden Hawks have won six section titles, the most recent in 1987.