Foothill Falls to Villa Park in Water Polo

It was a case of brutality.

Or at least that’s how the referees saw it when they ejected Foothill’s Mike Schulz and left the Knights a man down for 2 1/2 quarters against Villa Park in boys’ water polo Friday at Villa Park.

As a result, Villa Park was able to come back from a four-goal deficit to beat Foothill, 7-6, and win its second consecutive Century League title.

“It’s too bad that a game like this has to end up like this,” Villa Park Coach John Carcich said. “But I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.”

No coaches or players said they saw Schulz’s major infraction, but some observers believed he was called for a head-butt. Referees Mark Despars and Steve Yancey declined to comment.

Because of the ejection, Schulz will have to sit out of the Knights’ first-round playoff game Thursday.

“It’s the first time in my 12 years coaching Foothill that I’ve ever had a player ejected because of a brutality call,” Foothill Coach Jim Brumm said. “But I don’t want to take anything from Villa Park. And our kids did a great job.”

Foothill seemed to have the game in control, leading 5-2 before the ejection.

But playing a man down, Foothill had to shift to a defensive strategy. The Knights nearly pulled it off and led 6-5 going into the final minute.

Matt Herrera tied the score with 57 seconds left and Shane Joffe scored the game-winner with 13 seconds left.

“We’ve had a hard time keeping our game under control during the season,” Joffe said. “But we stayed under control to win. We kept patient.”

T.J. Matijevich had three goals for Villa Park (20-6, 5-0). Blake Seymour led Foothill (18-7, 4-1) with two.

This was Villa Park’s second consecutive victory in the series, which Foothill leads, 20-16.