Last-minute goal sinks CdM boys’ water polo in CIF Division 1 semifinal versus Orange Lutheran
The Corona del Mar High boys’ water polo team gathered for a long time after Wednesday’s match, and then coaches and players wrapped each other in hugs.
On the cusp of a championship game appearance, the Sea Kings saw that hope dashed with less than a minute to spare.
Jonathan Carcarey scored the game-winning goal with 46 seconds remaining, lifting No. 3-seeded Orange Lutheran to an 11-10 upset of No. 2-seeded Corona del Mar in a CIF Southern Section Division 1 semifinal at Woollett Aquatics Center.
“It felt great,” Carcarey, a Pepperdine commit, said of winning the game late in regulation. “We needed a goal. It was tied. We needed a goal big time. I didn’t want to go into overtime, and I think we had that momentum to get us up, and we just ran a great play. Everybody was at the right position. Everybody picked the ball in the right way. They left me open for an easy shot. My teammates set me up there.”
Orange Lutheran (19-10) will face Foothill in the Division 1 final on Saturday at 10:50 a.m. at Woollett Aquatics Center. The Knights edged top-seeded Laguna Beach 6-5 in the other semifinal.
Corona del Mar (22-9) trailed 5-3 after the first period, before rallying to take a 7-6 lead at halftime. The Sea Kings went down by two goals again entering the fourth quarter, but CdM mounted a comeback.
Junior Charles Warmington whistled a left-handed laser inside the near post to bring CdM to within one goal. He retreated from an advancing Lancers defender to get the shot away.
The Sea Kings got even with a two-meter goal from Camren Simoncelli, his game-high fifth goal of the evening, with 1:56 left. Corona del Mar coach Kareem Captan remarked it was the best game he had seen from the junior center.
“It was a lot of ebbs and flows, and as the game was progressing, we weren’t really sure how things were going to pan out,” Captan said. “To show the resilience of this group, for having them go down in the first and then battle back and take the lead in the second, I think it just shows what these guys have shown all season — their character of being resilient kids … in the water, resilient kids with their attitude of being in a pressure situation and not folding, and continuing to fight all the way down to the last minute and a half where it’s tied up.”
Warmington had a hat-trick, and sophomore Jackson Harlan added two goals for CdM, which was the Wave League champion this season. Junior Carson Simonson made the entry pass on Simoncelli’s tying goal.
“It was awesome this year,” Simoncelli said. “I had a lot of fun. Honestly, I can’t wait to come back next year because we’re pretty much all going to be seniors next year, so it’s going to be super hard for us to lose. I feel like we have the best shot next year, but it’s really sad because it was a super close group. It was really hard to go down together.”
Carcarey had five goals to pace Orange Lutheran. Senior Jackson Benners had a hat-trick, senior Wade Sherlock scored twice, and junior Matthew Mai-Prasarnsuk added one goal.
Senior goalkeeper Greg Moore made four saves in a shutout third quarter for the Lancers, and he made a two-handed stop with 37 seconds left to preserve the one-goal lead, the deflection ricocheting off the crossbar.
“Once we got going, and once we started getting those blocks and started getting down the [pool], getting those shots off, it was unreal,” Moore said. “I felt super confident. I feel like that’s my job as a goalie, to be confident to carry my team.”
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