Corona del Mar Struggles, but Advances

Corona del Mar Coach Jim Vargas wasn’t happy when his team was moved from Division I to Division II in boys’ water polo for this season.

But Vargas’ Sea Kings haven’t found the going easier at the lower level of competition. Wednesday, the second-seeded Corona del Mar struggled with underdog El Dorado to win, 7-5, in overtime in a Southern Section Division II quarterfinal at El Dorado High.

While El Dorado played a valiant game, it couldn’t maintain its intensity in overtime.

Garrett Bowlus scored the winning goal 20 seconds into overtime and Morgen Johnston put it out of reach with eight seconds left.

“We knew this would be a tough game,” Corona del Mar two-meter man Garrett Gentry said. “We never played them before, but we came in prepared. On defense, we knew they were a driving team, but I think we were able to stop that.”

Corona del Mar (17-11) had 18 steals with Alex Niehenke accounting for five and Johnston three.

Gentry, the top scorer for the Sea Kings, was held scoreless for the first two quarters. He managed just two goals.

“This is the playoffs, so we expected every game to be tough,” Gentry said. “But we wanted to control the game, and I think we did.”

While El Dorado (16-11) played a tough game, Corona del Mar contributed to the closeness of the score by missing 10 shots.

“That was a problem,” Vargas said. “I’m happy with the way our team played. El Dorado’s a solid team. I’m pleased we played [well] defensively. But we need to work on some things, like our shots and passes.”

Johnston scored the game’s first goal on an assist by David Fabian at 3:05 of the first quarter. But El Dorado tied the score on Ryan Patterson’s goal with 14 seconds left in the period.

Patterson scored his second goal in a man-up situation in the second quarter as the Golden Hawks kept Corona del Mar scoreless to take a 2-1 lead going into the second half.

But Corona del Mar came back with a three-goal third quarter, holding El Dorado to one goal. Gentry scored two goals from the two-meter mark and Johnston scored the other. Chaz Reta scored El Dorado’s only goal in the quarter as the Sea Kings led, 4-3.

Bowlus opened the fourth quarter with a goal to give Corona del Mar a 5-3 lead at 6:19, but El Dorado came right back with goals from Reta and Patterson, who made a difficult shot from the hole-set to tie the score, 5-5.

Ararat Oganesyan was outstanding in goal for El Dorado, making 15 saves, plus three saves out of goal.

Corona del Mar advances to play Los Alamitos or Buena Park in the semifinals Saturday.

The last time Corona del Mar was in the semifinals was in 1994, when it won, but then lost to Long Beach Wilson in the finals.

“It’s a good feeling” to be in the semifinals, Vargas said. “The guys have responded well all year. We have a couple of things we need to fine-tune for Saturday’s game, but I would say we’re extremely eager to play.”