Servite Wins in Water Polo

Anaheim Servite, ranked second in the region by The Times, scored three goals in the final three minutes Monday and defeated top-ranked Newport Beach Corona del Mar, 9-6, in a nonleague boys’ water polo game at Corona del Mar High.

The Sea Kings (14-2) rallied from a three-goal deficit to tie the score, 6-6, with 4:18 remaining before Servite regained the lead with goals from Trevor Clark, Vincent Bevins and Pat Buckner--all three scores coming in the Friars’ final three possessions.

“We slapped the giant across the face and now the giant is awake,” Servite Coach Jim Sprague said of Corona del Mar, the two-time defending champion in Southern Section Division II.

Servite (18-2) is ranked second in Division II behind Corona del Mar, and Sprague believes the rankings should remain that way.

He said the Friars didn’t play that much better than Corona del Mar, they were simply a little luckier.

“They only got two goals out of [the two-meter position] and they probably should have got nine or 10,” Sprague said. “We’ll probably have a heart attack when we see [on film] how many times they came close to scoring.”

Sprague credited the two-meter defense of John Doyle and the play of goalkeeper Matt Garcia, who had 14 saves.