Improving Foothill Falls in Final to Wilson, 10-5

Simple chemistry shows it only requires hydrogen and oxygen to produce water. The compounds for a strong water polo team aren’t so simple.

Santa Ana Foothill learned that lesson two weeks ago when it struggled to a seventh-place finish at the South Coast tournament at Newport Harbor High.

J.W. Krumpholz, a Southern Section Division I first team selection as a sophomore a year ago, was still getting used to the increased attention from defenses after training with the U.S. national youth team last summer. Damjan Dudic, a senior transfer from Serbia and Montenegro, was getting accustomed to a new, wide-open style of play. And their teammates were getting familiar with each other.

But the pieces have started to come together and it was most evident Saturday at the S&R; Sport Cup at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center in Irvine, where Foothill eventually lost, 10-5, to three-time defending Division I champion Long Beach Wilson in the championship game.

“We got to know each other,” Krumpholz said of the team’s more cohesive play. “[Dudic’s] style is a little different from ours. After that tournament, we all stepped it up. We made it to the finals here and beat some really good teams.”

The Knights, ranked No. 4 in Division I, knocked off No. 1 North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake on a buzzer-beating shot by Dudic in a semifinal earlier Saturday. Wilson, ranked No. 2, defeated Northern California power San Jose Bellarmine in the other semifinal.

Wilson’s defense and Dudic’s early foul trouble paved the way for a Bruin victory Saturday. Wilson led, 7-1, before Foothill scored its second goal midway through the third period, ending a 12 minute 35 second scoring drought. Chay Lapin made 11 saves in goal for Wilson (14-1), which lost in the South Coast tournament final to Villa Park on Sept. 25 when Coach Tony Martinho played a reserve in goal. Foothill lost to Division II teams Los Alamitos and Anaheim Servite.

But the Knights beat Lake Forest El Toro in the seventh-place game and stunned Harvard-Westlake, 13-11, in a nonleague game last week. They stayed on their roll Wednesday, knocking off Newport Harbor, 9-8, in a Sea View League game.

Foothill figures to get stronger when junior goalkeeper Travis Stachowski returns after his broken arm heals.